


Death From Within

by GrimReaperJr1232



Category: Persona 3, Persona Series
Genre: Consensual Underage Sex, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Depression, Early Work, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Identity Issues, It Gets Better, Revenge, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Suicidal Thoughts, Survivor Guilt, Toxic friendship, eventually anyway
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 23:46:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 70
Words: 238,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21657655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrimReaperJr1232/pseuds/GrimReaperJr1232
Summary: For 10 years, the boy known to many as Makoto Yuki and fewer as Minato Arisato and even fewer as both The Prince and The Incarcerator has lived without anything but a long list of curses. He watched as people died and did nothing. The boy grew to care about nothing more than either himself or his only friend. That is, until a certain someone forces their way into his life...
Relationships: Arisato Minato/Shiomi Kotone, Yuki Makoto/Shiomi Kotone
Comments: 45
Kudos: 67





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is another one of my little projects from FFN. Unlike my other one, this is actually one of my earlier works. So early, in fact, that I didn't even have a proper grammar checker at the time (in other words, typos inbound; I'll try to clean it up a little, but nothing major). I made a lot of mishaps when writing this fic, but people seemed to like it, so I must've done something right. 
> 
> I... you know, I thought I'd have more to say, but no. I think I'll post a few chapters of this every now and then until it's all caught up. I hope you guys like it as much as everyone else did then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I realized how confusing me removing the little text that gave away the location during transitions and such later was, so now I'm just going to edit them back in for your convenience. A fair warning though: eventually, I do stop using them entirely, but by that point, it's a lot easier to understand.

_**Train** _

"Now approaching, Iwatodai.." The announcer repeated on the intercom

Sitting alone on a train, is a young 16-year-old boy know to most as Makoto Yuki. He wasn't doing anything, rather, he was just sitting quietly while listening to his earphones that were connected to the mp3 player he wore around his neck.

Makoto's most noticeable features were that he had messy dark blue hair with a large fringe that covered almost an entire half of his face and blue-gray eyes that seemed to lack any emotion whatsoever.

Everyone kept their distance from Makoto. Something about the boy seemed... off. It was hard for people to describe, but whenever they were close to the boy they could've sworn they felt a chill in the air. Not that the boy did anything creepy, but rather it felt like they were in the presence of something else... something very wrong.

He didn't mind this, however, he actually preferred it. Even when he was in grade school, Makoto was always the one that stayed by himself. Even when kids his age had started to waste their time on relationships that would likely never last, Makoto was always the one that preferred to stay by himself, all alone.

Actually, this wasn't entirely correct either. No human being can survive without _some_ form of social interaction if they wished to stay sane, but it was a friend that only he could see, that only he could hear... A friend that was special to him, and him alone.

"I don't think you'll make it before it happens..." The boy glanced to his right, the one speaking was a very young boy in what looked like an old-school prison getup.

"I don't care." He quietly responded to his old friend who was now looking around "What're you doing, Pharos?"

Makoto followed Pharos' gaze and saw an auburn-haired girl with crimson eyes who was listening to her own earphones and mp3 player.

"She's pretty," Pharos said which caused Makoto to roll his eyes. Unlike him, Pharos had a certain 'enamorment' when it came to people, particularly girls.

"Whatever..." The bluenette mumbled before the train finally stopped.

Makoto kept silent as he exited the train while looking at his watch as it kept ticking, just a few more seconds...

"3..." he whispered as he started the count down

"2..." he continued to walk a few more steps

"1..."

All of a sudden, all electronics ceased to function and the entire world gains a dark greenish tint.

Everyone around Makoto ceased to move before they completely changed from their human form into a red coffin.

From seemingly nowhere, red blood-like liquid began to seep from the floor, pour from the walls, and replace most sources of water in the general area.

Finally, above in the sky, the moon's color changed from white to a twisted form of green.

"Home sweet home," Makoto said dryly before noticing the sound of footsteps that weren't his.

He looked towards the sound and saw the same girl from earlier still her normal self and moving despite the fact that everyone else in currently a coffin.

"Huh..." Makoto said slightly surprised "Wonder how long you'll last." he wondered before leaving the station

* * *

**_Streets_ **

Just like everywhere else, the entirety of Iwatodai was dead-silent. None of the streetlights worked, the only source of illumination was the green light emanating from the moon.

It wasn't just the appearance, but the very atmosphere of the area felt completely different. It was very dark both in visual and tone, almost as if there were other things lurking in the darkness that engulfed the entire area.

None of this bothered Makoto, though, not even slightly. Quite the contrary, just as he said before, this time of day was almost like a sort of home for him. There was no one around to bother him, no one around to judge him, and best of all... No one around to pity him.

Pity... He even hated the sound of the word, much less the meaning.

It was here... Here in this very place that he lost his family 10 years ago. For 10 years, he was shuffled between biological and then adoptive family members, all of whom shunned him. They never mistreated him per se, to them he just... existed. He wanted nothing to do with them and after the first year or two, his adoptive family made no more attempts to include him in their lives outside of sharing a roof and providing him with what he needed.

Of course, none of them knew about this time of the day. That was reserved for him and only him. This—this was the only time he was truly free from everyone and everything.

As for other people, they were forced to remain in coffins for the entirety of this period. If they weren't in those, then, well...

"Huh?" Makoto stopped as soon as he heard the confused sound of someone other than himself "Wh-What the hell is this?!"

The boy glanced to his right and saw a confused man out of his coffin.

He merely shook his head as he watched the fate of what awaited everyone who wasn't lucky enough to be in their coffin.

Whoever the man was, he didn't get to wonder what was going on for too long. Suddenly, the same red liquid that decorated the area began to pour from the top of his head.

The man screamed in either fear or pain as he clutched his head that kept pouring the strange liquid before falling over and having his entire body become nothing more than a completely black puddle.

After a few moments, out of the puddle came a mask that was immediately followed by multiple arms sprouting.

With the mask seemingly acting as a head and face for the new creature, it looked around until it spotted Makoto who was still looking, seemingly not worried in the slightest.

The creature suddenly used its new arms to to sprint towards him, but Makoto didn't move a muscle.

Makoto took a deep breath and exhaled, still seeming like he was completely disinterested. And why should he have any? He already knew how this was going to end...

Suddenly, Makoto's eyes glowed a dim blue with a dark silhouette forming above him.

The moment he did this, the creature stopped in its tracks. But it didn't stop there, the creature let out an almost adorable squeak as it turned around and ran away in fear.

Makoto's eyes went back to normal and the silhouette disappeared as a smirk formed on the boy's face as he walked away. It was a little amusing to see those things run away in fear.

After a bit more walking, Makoto finally reached his destination. While him and his relatives didn't have the best relationship, they were at least able to provide him with his own apartment to live in for the year.

The bluenette went into the building and went to what would be his home for the rest of the year.

* * *

**_"Home"_ **

Makoto stepped inside as he felt the presence of the mysterious hour fade. It had a name, of course, Pharos said that it was called the 'Dark Hour' and creatures that come from it, such as the thing from earlier, are known as 'Shadows'.

Honestly, if he hadn't heard it from Pharos, it would've sounded ridiculous to him.

"Is this our new home?" Pharos asked as he looked around. There wasn't a lot to the place; There was a basic kitchen, a sofa, a TV, a table with 2 chairs, a bathroom with all the essentials, and a bedroom. It was all small, but functional.

"For now." The bluenette answered as he put the bag he had been carrying down on the floor

"Does it bother you?" Pharos asked, a tidbit concerned about his friend "I imagine being here isn't entirely pleasant."

"Don't worry about it." The boy assured as he went to his bedroom and collapsed onto his bed. Pharos had asked for him to come back here, and Makoto didn't even ask why. If that was what his friend wanted, then that's what he'd get.

"Sweet dreams, Minato." Pharos wished, using the name that only he was allowed to use.

"You... Too..." He barely managed to whisper before his consciousness faded away

* * *

_**Next day; Station** _

With tired eyes, Makoto forced himself up in the morning (which may have been assisted by Pharos' insistence as well) and went back to the station to take one of the monorails.

Unfortunately for Makoto, he was still a student. It was that very excuse he used on his 'family' to convince him to move here because he was able to get into some high prestige school.

Just like last night, he put his earphones on and listened as the world around him continued.

Pharos, only being visible by Makoto and Makoto alone, did his usual habit of viewing their surroundings. Then, something caught his attention.

"It's her again." He said which made Makoto look in the same direction. Unlike regular people, Pharos' voice always reached Makoto, almost as if the voice came from his own head rather than someone else's.

True to what the little boy said, the same redhead from last night managed to make it through the night and was riding the train while talking to some brunette in pink.

"So she made it through the night..." Makoto murmured slightly surprised. Usually, people died from 30 seconds to around 7 minutes.

Pharos, however, was a bit to busy ogling both of the girls to respond to what Makoto had said "She's pretty, too!"

Makoto sighed as he shook his head "We have to do something about that perverted mind of yours."

"They're in the same uniform too!" Pharos pointed out the redhead's blazer and the school shirt hidden within the brunette's pink jacket

"Neat." He replied, not entirely caring. She may have lived another day, but in the end, no one escapes death's grasp.

* * *

**_School_ **

"Good morning class..." The teacher called Ms. Toriumi said as Makoto and that same girl from earlier stood in front of everyone "I'd like to introduce 2 new transfer students."

The redhead took a step forward and politely bowed "Hello, everyone. My name is Kotone Shiomi."

The class was in a slight uproar over the new girl in school. The boys did the typical ogling over a new girl to try their futile attempts on.

The girls didn't pay as much attention as they did to Makoto, but the ones that did seemed friendly enough.

Next up, was Makoto's turn.

The boy walked up and simply said "Makoto Yuki." and then there was another uproar.

The girls, of course, were captivated by Makoto's unique but attractive features; His pale skin, lean body, decent enough height, and he had a certain draw that they just found endearing.

Meanwhile, the guys were actually a little creeped out. Just the way he silently stood there with a blank face and how a icy-cold aura just seemed to emanate from the guy.

Uninterested, Makoto just looked at his teacher "Where do you want us to sit?"

"I had a row made for the two of you, right..." Toriumi pointed at a row of two empty seats "... There!"

Without saying another word, the two did as asked. Makoto sat on the right side while Kotone sat on the left.

Now that he had a decent look at her, he could also she that she had an mp3 player and earphones of her own, albeit red instead of silver like his. She also seemed to like keeping her hair in a high-ponytail with silver barrettes that formed the Roman numeral for '22'.

She was also a bit on the short side, being maybe 3 - 4 inches smaller than him. Her skin was also pale, but not enough that she almost looked like a ghost. Unlike most girls nowadays, she didn't have any of her ears pierced at all. She was definitely a pretty one, just like Pharos said, but appearances meant little to Makoto.

And then she noticed him looking right at her.

"Hey..." She whispered as to not catch their teacher's attention

Seeing how he was the one who caused this, he decided to respond "Yes..?"

"Well, if we're going to be here for the year, why not get to-"

"No." Makoto objected before she could even finish her sentence

"Oh come-"

"No."

"Please-"

"No." He said for the 3rd time, this time trading his flat tone for one with annoyance.

Kotone looked a bit disheartened as she looked forward and sighed. This did make Makoto feel a little bit bad seeing how it was his looking at her that caused this, rather than her not minding her own business like most people.

Makoto sighed "Sorry..." he apologized "I'm not a people person, so please, just leave me alone."

"Hmm..." Kotone thought for a moment "I'll accept..." she smirked as she leaned forward " _If_ you agree to buy me dinner."

Makoto returned the suggestion with a blank face "Why would I do that and why would you even want that?"

"I want it because I'm a growing girl..." She answered with a giggle. Makoto had wondered for years what his antithesis would look like, and it appears that he had finally found her "As to why you should _other_ than spending time with the girl of your dreams, is that _someone_ has to teach you some manners." That had just met, and he already knew that this girl was going to be the death of him.

"I'll think about it." He said, not outright agreeing, but not outright refusing either. Such a statement was seemingly enough to satisfy Kotone.

* * *

**_Later_ **

After barely managing to keep his eyes open, Makoto could finally leave as the school ended.

Unexpectedly, as soon as everyone could walk around, a capped boy with a goatee approached both him and Kotone.

"Hey..." The boy greeted, much to Makoto's confusion.

"Hiya!" Kotone returned the greeting while her fellow transfer student just stared blankly.

"I'm Junpei Iori, nice to meet ya!" The boy identified himself

"What do you want?" Makoto asked bluntly, instantly killing whatever mood Junpei was trying to build.

"I transferred here when I was in 8th grade, so I know what it's like to be the new kid." Junpei explained his admittedly noble intentions "Though, your a lot luckier than I was. When I transferred, it was just me."

"I'm not looking for a friend." Makoto said bluntly, not wanting to waste any time or get the boy's hopes up "Just leave me alone and there won't be any problems."

"Gee, you don't waste anytime." Kotone chimed in, realizing he was quite serious when he said that he wasn't looking for a friend nor was he a people person.

"Bothering someone again?" Said an unfamiliar feminine voice

Everyone turned to the voice and saw the same brunette in a pink jacket from the monorail here.

"Honestly, you'll talk to anybody as long as they listen." The girl said to Junpei, which seemed to somewhat offend the boy

"Hey, I was just being friendly." Junpei defended his actions

"Nice to see you again, Yukari-chan!" Kotone greeted and identified the girl.

"Hey..." Suddenly, Yukari's tone changed. It was much quieter, as if there was a secret between them "Hey, you didn't tell anyone about 'you-know-what', right?"

Kotone shook her head "Mm-mm." she denied

"Good." Yukari seemed a little relieved "Seriously, don't tell anyone about last night."

Junpei suddenly recoiled a bit in shock at the implications that she had inadvertently set "L-L-Last night?!"

 _Last night?_ Makoto thought to himself. He had seen Kotone easily moving around during the Dark Hour when it first started, so it was unlikely that she and Yukari did what Junpei was no-doubt thinking. But, if Kotone was able to move during the Dark Hour and they had a secret, did that mean Yukari could too?

"W-What?!" Yukari asked with a red face as she realized what she just said.

Makoto sighed, he had better things to do than listen to this.

"Later." he gave a simple farewell before putting on his earphones on and walking away.

As he passed the lockers, he saw Pharos sitting on some while kicking his feet.

"They seemed nice." Pharos gave his opinion on his classmates

"I don't care." Makoto dismissed the idea that Pharos was implying. While he understood Pharos was only interested in his happiness, he also didn't want any friends. After all, he already had the only one he needed in his eyes.

After the bluenette walked out the school's front doors, Pharos seemingly teleported to the school's gates.

"Do you think both of them are also able to move during the Dark Hour as well?" Pharos asked, his curiosity peaked. Usually, anyone who wasn't in a coffin died soon after, except for Makoto himself.

"I know Kotone can, not sure about the other one." He answered as he trotted to his new home "We might want to look into it at some point."

Pharos chuckled as he walked beside his friend "I think this is going to be a very interesting year for us, Minato."

"Yeah..." Makoto agreed. Something told him that this year was going to be an interesting one, indeed. Who knows what surprises fate had in store for the boy? Only time could tell.

For now, all he could do is retreat home and wait. There wasn't anything, especially at this time of the day, that could interest the boy now.


	2. Chapter 2

**_?_ **

_"C'mon, big bro!" A familiar voice says to me. It's one of the few voices I'll never forget._

_"H-Hey!" I yelled back at her "Don't drag me around!" she always was a bossy one... One of the things I loved about her._

_"Then hurry up, Minato!" She yelled back at me as she jerked my arm again._

_Minato... It's always weird when I hear that name from anyone other than Pharos. It's a little relieving in an odd way. Maybe it's because for a moment, just for a splitting moment, I forget everything that happened._

_... I miss that name._

_"You dragged me to play in a sandbox?" At times I never really understood her. She really was an odd one, but no one knew me better than her._

_"Oh, don't be a baby!" she retorted with a laugh as she smiled back at me._

_Even after all these years, I haven't forgotten her face. She had the same hair as me (albeit longer), same eyes, height... really the only difference between us was our gender._

_I sighed, somewhat annoyed by her behavior, but how could I be mad at her?_

_"You're mean, Minako." She was a part of me_

* * *

**_Home_ **

Makoto opened his eyes slowly and sighed. 10 years later, and all the dreams still won't stop.

The bluenette slowly got up from his bed and listened to the ticking of the clock. Just a few moments more now.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

It was almost humorous to him in a way. Most would say that his life had basically devolved into a big waiting game, but really, wasn't that life in a nutshell?

When you're born, you're incapable of thinking coherently until a set amount of time had passed.

When you're a child, you constantly wait until you grow up more and more.

When you're a teenager, you might start to fear time and begin to do reckless things to simply live in the moment, carpe diem, if you would. Still, most often they look forward for time to pass and they can finally reach maturity.

When you're finally an adult, you realize how stupid you were. All that time you spent waiting, always looking forward to growing up. But now, there's nothing left to look forward to. Now, all that awaits you is a brief moment in your prime before your body begins to degrade.

Then, when you're old and frail, you tend to reflect. Even with your stupidity, most can't deny the joy they might've found in their earlier years. By then, everyone knows what awaits them. The one thing that every living creature has in common.

And that is the giant waiting game that was life.

That is why he hardly cared at this point. It all ends the exact same way, so who cares how you live at this point?

For what? A future? Just more and more years of prolonging the inevitable? Maybe it's family? Creating and dooming more people because you couldn't keep your hormones under control?

Maybe there was more to it than that, but he didn't care. He lost the ones he loved a long time ago, thus losing whatever reason or answer there was.

After waiting for what felt like hours, The Dark Hour finally settled in.

He saw what he expected; Electronics shut off, world darkens, the whole thing.

What he _didn't_ expect was that out the window he saw a giant tower forming.

"Huh.." Makoto said in a slight surprise "That's new."

Then, he turned to the drawer next to his bed which had Pharos sitting on it with an innocent look on his face.

"Up for a little trip?" Makoto asked his old friend

Pharos nodded "If that's what you wish."

* * *

**_Tower_ **

Makoto made his way to where the large tower was (which wasn't easy since the train was out too).

The tower was easily large enough to even be considered a skyscraper and had the same twisted aura the moon had during this time of the year. Where this place came from or why it formed it is nothing short of a mystery.

Even more of a mystery was why this happened at his school of all places.

Makoto turned to Pharos "Know anything about it?"

"I..." Pharos put a hand to his head and seemed to be mentally straining himself "I'm sorry. I can't remember anything."

"Don't worry about it." Makoto comforted the mysterious boy before looking back at the tower "First there are other people who can move and now there's this..." he mumbled, "What else is here?"

"Do you want to go inside?" Pharos asked, wondering if there was going have to defend the boy or not

"Not tonight." He answered as he began to walk home "We should probably find some answers about the others first."

"As you wish," Pharos said without any objections.

* * *

**_Next day; School_ **

Just like before, Makoto silently sat as he thought about the previous night's events. Just where did that tower come from? And why did he feel hundreds upon hundreds of shadows inside the thing?

Of course, also like before, a certain redhead decided to bug him again.

"So~, what're we havin'?" Kotone asked as she leaned in a little to close

Makoto raised an eyebrow "You were serious?"

Suddenly, Kotone went dead-serious "When it comes to food, I am always serious."

Makoto blinked a few times "... Were you hit on the head or something?"

"What?" Kotone whined as she made a pouty face "Aren't I pretty enough?"

"..." At this rate, he couldn't tell if she was a child, was teasing him for fun, or coming on to him "What do you want?"

Kotone sighed as she supported her head with her elbow "I'm _trying_ to get on good terms with the person I'll be sitting next to."

"Then leave me alone..." Makoto said before looking forward "That's an easy way."

"..." There was a pause, almost as if Kotone couldn't believe someone could be this stubborn "I still want dinner."

"Why?" He asked bluntly

"Because you still owe me an apology and I like eating." Kotone answered which made Makoto look back at her confused

"Do you just throw it up or something?" he asked which seemed to both confuse and offend Kotone a bit "I mean, you're about as thin as I am."

"Hehe..." Kotone let out a mischievous giggle "Well, _I_ just so happen to be blessed by a god or goddess and can eat whatever I want, but still stay slim."

"High metabolism." He concluded, not wanting or even seeing the point in indulging her little fantasy "Small world."

Kotone slouched slightly "You really are hopeless, aren't you?"

Makoto sighed, there was one way to get her out of his hair "What do you want? Me to make you something?"

She instantly brightened up "You can cook?!"

The boy groaned immediately _Goddammit..._ He cursed mentally, realizing he might just have made everything worse "Just tell me what you want so we can get this over with."

Kotone sighed "I'd _love_ to go, but there's a bit of a dorm issue going on." she explained as best she could "Until that's settled, I can't go anywhere."

"What's stopping you?" Makoto asked. If there was someone/something capable of controlling or dealing with her, he had to know right away.

Kotone sighed and put her head down "Mitsuru-senpai."

Makoto shook his head and he exhaled, this was going to be a long year.

* * *

**_"Home"_ **

Not in the mood to make anything, Makoto settled on eating ramen while listening to his earphones as he looked out the window.

Tonight was a full moon. Makoto found it interesting how the moon looked beautiful at first, then quickly shift into it's twisted green form every night.

Tick

Tock

Tick

Tock

There were times when this waiting game started to get old. But Makoto still waited as long as he had to for the Dark Hour to come.

Makoto's eyes wandered to the fork he'd been using to eat the ramen.

Slowly, he put the cup down before pressing one of the points of the fork into his left thumb. Slowly he presses harder until he saw blood start to gush and pain started to kick in.

He didn't form a habit of doing this because he's a masochist or even because he wanted to die. Sometimes, after feeling the same day-in and day-out, he needed a reminder that he was still alive and this wasn't some twisted afterlife.

Then, the world shifted again as everything began to change and the wound Makoto made on his thumb healed instantly.

"Minato..." Makoto looked behind him to see Pharos with a very serious look in his eyes "... There's a special shadow out tonight." he warned, "I don't know why, but I feel the need to have it destroyed."

Makoto stood up as soon as heard that "Then what're we waiting for?" if Pharos wanted it, he wanted to give it. There weren't any questions on the matter.

"Wait!" Pharos shouted before Makoto could leave "There are others who can wander during the Dark Hour as well here. Until we know if they're trustworthy, shouldn't you try to conceal your identity?"

"Hmm..." Makoto hummed in thought before something came to mind.

He rummaged through some of his still packed bags and pulled out a blue hoodie with a purple scarf.

"Good enough."

* * *

**_?_ **

Following Pharos' directions without question, Makoto was eventually lead to a sight he'd actually never seen before.

He was standing outside what looked like a school dorm. It looked a little nicer and newer than the others, but that wasn't the strange part.

The strange parts are the not only were there a few lights still on during the Dark Hour inside, but there were quite a few shadows around as well.

Of course, all of the shadows knew better than to attack Makoto who simply walked by without paying them any mind.

Then, the front of the dorm's doors burst open revealing a girl with long crimson red hair and a hurt boy with a bandage on his forehead.

The two didn't seem to notice Makoto who kept to the shadows as they brought gun looking objects to their heads and pulled the trigger.

Rather than doing the logical thing and killing the 2 of them, instead, 2 other large figures appeared above them before engaging the shadows.

From the corner of his eye, Makoto saw an exceptionally large shadow begin to make his way to climb up the wall to get to the roof.

"To the roof, I go." He mumbled before casually walking past the plethora of shadows and going into the dorm.

Once inside the dorm, he walked up the steps as he felt the shadow climbing the wall. While moving, he noticed an old man in one of the rooms looking at monitors that were showing camera footage.

After a few moments, the man finally checked the one that was showing the door to the room he was in.

The man looked behind him in shock and locked eyes with Makoto.

After a few moments of looking at him up and down, Makoto simply walked on, deeming the old geezer to be unimportant at the moment.

He made his way further and further to the roof of the dorm until he found that whoever was up there locked the door behind them. Most likely as a means to avoid the shadows from below.

Makoto turned to Pharos "Care to help?"

Pharos nodded and suddenly, Makoto's eyes glowed a dim blue again as the door was ripped off its hinges.

On the roof were both Yukari and Kotone, both of whom were facing the large shadow that Pharos wanted to be killed.

Above Kotone was another one of those large figures. This one had a metallic body with silver limbs, a golden torso, and a golden heart-shaped lyre. Also, in her hand was another one of those gun-like objects.

"Eurydice!" Kotone shouted as the figure above her attacked the shadow. It was holding it off, but that thing was much stronger than Eurydice (the name being assumed based on what Kotone said).

After a few moments, the shadow seemed to use the wind itself against Kotone and pushed her against the wall. This was known to Makoto as a Garu spell.

The shadow was made of multiple arms, most of which were hold blades. One of them was holding a mask with the roman numeral for "1", thus identifying this shadow as a Magician.

The shadow seemingly glared at Makoto before charging at him as fast as it could. The boy chuckled silently, it'd been a while since a shadow ran _to_ him rather than _away_ from him.

Amused, but still composed, he looked down and noticed the gun-like object had fallen near his feet.

Considering everyone minus the old man had used this to summon a power known as 'persona', it was likely that Yukari could too.

The hooded boy kicked the object to Yukari, partly in hope that she'd do something and partly because he was curious of what she'd do.

Yukari seemed to be hesitant as she picked the object up and put it to her head.

Her breathing quickly became labored and she knew had to fire, but something held her back. Eventually, even her hands started to shake as a tear from either fear or frustration fell down her cheek.

 _Idiot..._ Makoto thought as he sighed and snatched the device away before shaking his head in disappointment and turning back to look at the Magician.

He pocketed the 'gun' for safekeeping as he walked towards the shadow.

"Per..." Underneath the scarf he wore, a sinister smile formed ear to ear on the boy's face and his heart rate accelerated as he whispered.

"...so..." Magician raised its blades, ready to tear the bluenette to pieces and then move on to the rest. Makoto's eyes glowed again, this time just a tad brighter than before as a large dark silhouette formed above him.

Magician was just a few feet away from him. The shadow then began to move it's blades in a plunging motion to stab the boy before allowing his blood and entrails to decorate the roof. "...na."

The dark silhouette moved in front of Makoto as it solidified and took all the stabs for it's master.

Then, a white hand reached out and grabbed Magician by the mask.

Lifting it up was a large figure with a white metallic face and soulless black eyes, a dark seemingly jacketed body, a large sword which it held with one hand, and chains on his back which held various coffins almost like a form of a cape.

This was none other than The Bringer Of Death, Thanatos.

Thanatos let out a loud shriek as he slammed the shadow down to the ground before lifting it up only to continuous lift and slam it as if it were nothing more than a rag doll.

Pieces upon pieces of the shadow broke off the main body before Thanatos crushed the mask that was held in his hand.

Then, the pieces of the Magician that broke off seemingly melted into a puddle before reforming into that of an ordinary shadow.

Thanatos let out another roar as he swung his blade which suddenly caused a large black flame to appear and engulf most of the shadows. By the time the flame had disappeared into a puff of smoke, much like the flame itself, the shadows seemingly disappeared as if they had never existed to begin with.

Thanatos sheathed his blade and outstretched his arms as the chains on his back seemingly went wild as they began to extend to the point that their lengths seemed potentially infinite. Within seconds they had pierced or crushed any of the remaining shadows left on the rooftop.

Thanatos stood up straight and looked towards the sky as he let out a deafening roar before disappearing into seemingly nothing.

"Hey, can you hear me?!" Makoto looked behind him and saw Yukari shaking the unconscious Kotone

Without saying a word, Makoto walked to the redhead and placed fingers on her wrist to check for a pulse. She was still alive.

"She's exhausted after summoning her persona." Pharos explained to Makoto who stood back up "She'll wake up eventually."

The hooded boy was about to leave, but the two from earlier stood in his path.

Without saying a word, Makoto used a hand gesture to tell them to move out of the way. They went to the same school so it was too risky to use his voice.

"I thank you for your assistance. We might not have made it in time" She thanked, but her tone seemed to hint that she was also suspicious of him

The boy began to speak "My name's Akihiko and this is Mitsuru." he identified the two of them "We call ourselves SEES."

"May we ask who you are?" Mitsuru asked, so this was the one that could actually keep Kotone under control.

Makoto sighed, he didn't have time for this. He turned around and walked to the edge of the fenceless roof.

"What're you doing?" Akihiko asked confused

Without answering, Makoto just casually jumped off the roof like a child jumping into a puddle.

"HEY!" He heard Akihiko shout just as he jumped, no doubt confused and worried why he would do such a thing.

He descended in free fall for a few moments before Thanatos appeared and safely put the boy down without a scratch.

"Thanks, Pharos." Makoto thanked his friend as he walked home. He wasn't too worried about SEES following him since they'd be too occupied with Kotone.

"So they're persona users too." Makoto shared his discoveries with his friend

"It looked like they needed that gun to summon them, though." Pharos pointed out, referring to the object that Makoto kept in his pocket

As he walked home, Makoto pulled out the object and inspected in. There was an engraving that said "SEES" and under it "Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad"

"Stupid name." He mumbled as he put the thing away. Something about the gun felt weird though. It wasn't that it _looked_ weird, but he could've sworn he felt something from within the device.

"Minato..." Pharos called out to his friend "Something feels... odd now"

A little surprised and confused, Makoto raised an eyebrow "Yeah? What is it?"

"That girl with the long red hair. I remember hearing her name before." Pharos answered, "After defeating the shadow, small fragments of my memory just... returned."

"Huh..." Makoto said as he thought about what he just said, "Let me know if it happens again."

Pharos nodded "Why didn't you hear them out?" he asked

"I have no interest in working with them, that simple." Makoto answered immediately "Besides, they were probably only interested in me because of you."

"I see." Pharos responded, not knowing how to continue the subject

"How long do you think it'll take for her to wake up?" The bluenette asked, curious if he'd have an empty desk next to him for awhile.

Pharos thought for a moment "I don't know. It depends on the summoning really."

Makoto yawned as he made it come just in time for the Dark Hour to end "Maybe we'll hit the tower one of these nights."

"Let me know whenever you're ready." Pharos agreed, his protection of his friend being as unconditional as it was

The boy silently nodded as he entered his home to go to bed. He had managed to learn quite a few things this night, so he couldn't say any of this was a waste of time.

Although, maybe SEES knew more about the tower and its origins. Leaving how he did might not have been the best idea, but there was no going back now.

Now, he could only learn what he could through whatever he and his friend could get his hands on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I think I might sprinkle in fun facts about either this fic or the writing process now and then. 
> 
> First, Jesus, re-reading these chapters makes me cringe. That's good, right? It means I got better over time! Right? Right...? Right...?!
> 
> Ok, but in all seriousness, you might notice a few parallels between this fic and another FFN fic known as "Bloodlust." Blame the fact that the author and I are friends (and we think more alike than we care to admit), he even gave this fic a shoutout once. That was nice of him... Never tell him I said that though.


	3. Chapter 3

_**School** _

Makoto sat silently in his chair with the desk adjacent to his being empty as expected. Of course, this sparked curiosity and questions, most of which were quelled when Kotone's dormmates said she was sick.

Of course, Makoto, along with SEES, knew the true reason as to why she was out.

Although, something curious happened last night. Her persona's name was Eurydice, and in terms of lore, that was the wife of Orpheus.

And Orpheus was his persona. Actually, he was just one of many of the personas he had. He had literally hundreds of personas, but never saw any reason to use anything other than Thanatos/Pharos as he was by far his most powerful.

Still, Orpheus was special compared to all the others. Orpheus was the extension of the psyche of... someone else. It belonged to him, for sure, but it was born from the mind of a long dead man.

He had Orpheus and she had Eurydice... Was that a coincidence? Or was there something else involved?

Whatever the case, she was going to be out for a while and Makoto had a good bit of time to himself. On his to-do list would be to learn what that tower was supposed to be, learn more about SEES if possible, and kill anymore of those big shadows if one decides to show its face again.

The bell rang to signal the class' lunch break and the capped boy from a few days ago approached Makoto.

"Real shame Ko-tan is sick, huh?" Junpei sounded disappointed, he looked like he was quickly taking a shine to the new girl

"Whatever." Makoto dismissed, not really caring about her absence.

"Dude, you're cold." Junpei exaggerated a shiver to make his point

"And I said to leave me alone..." Makoto replied with the same blank face and flat tone he always had "Dude, you're bad at following directions."

"No need to be a dick man."

"I _did_ warn you." He reminded the cap teen before getting out of his seat "And I have things to do."

Without even saying goodbye, Makoto walked out of the classroom and tailed his brunette classmate in pink. He had waited a few minutes to give the two some space and had his earphones on so it didn't seem like he was trying to spy on her, but Pharos didn't have any restriction other than needing to be close to Makoto.

Eventually, they reached the Student Council Room which the brunette entered despite Makoto knowing that she wasn't a member.

Makoto leaned against the wall next to the entrance and turned to Pharos "Your turn, little guy."

Pharos nodded "At once." he said before going through the wall and listening to the students within, their voices going to Makoto almost as if they were talking through a phone.

"How long do you think she'll be out..?" That sounded like Yukari's voice

"I don't know." And that sounded like Mitsuru "Usually it's a day or two at most, but given what she had to face during her awakening..."

"She'll be fine." And that sounded like Akihiko, he seemed to be confident

"In the meantime, we should concern ourselves with that other persona user." Mitsuru said, sounding like she was the leader of this group "Just who was he?"

"He sure was powerful, though," Yukari said, being the only one who saw his power with her own eyes and felt the cold deathly aura his persona gave off

"He didn't seem like he was too interested in joining though." Akihiko pointed out, Makoto's silence and leaving of the area still fresh in his mind "And why didn't he speak?"

"More importantly, what are his motivations?" Mitsuru asked, even in voice alone she sounded like she was giving off a professional and mature vibe "He may have taken care of the shadow, but he didn't seem like he cared about anyone else's well being."

"Tch, just who is he?!" Mitsuru sounded agitated

It was then that Pharos returned to his friend "They sound frustrated over your sudden appearance and subsequent disappearance."

Makoto shrugged, not really caring "They can think what they want."

Pharos then smiled mischievously "And did you know that Yukari-chan likes to wear pink and Mitsuru-san likes to wear black?"

"Well, with Yukari that's-" Makoto paused as he realized just why Pharos was smiling "That... That's just wrong."

Pharos laughed at his friend's shock "But it felt so right!"

Makoto shook his head as he sighed and faced the door. Pharos' perversion aside, it was time to test their lying-skills.

Makoto opened the door, surprising the members of SEES.

"Hello." He said coyly, as he walked further into the room

"Can I help you?" Mitsuru asked, confused as to why he suddenly appeared but not wanting to seem suspicious

"You all live in Kotone's dorm, right?" Makoto asked, even though he knew the answer

"That's right," Akihiko spoke up, confirming what the bluenette already knew

"So..." Makoto sat on one of the desks, "Where is she?"

"Didn't you hear? She's sick!" Yukari answered, using the same excuse she used on everyone else

"Really?" Makoto played dumb "Well, I guess I should go to your dorm and tell her what she missed..."

"N-No!" Yukari objected rather strongly "I-I mean, we live in the same dorm so one of us can tell her."

Makoto narrowed his eyes as he looked at the group "I want to pay a visit."

Mitsuru stepped in "I'm afraid not. She needs her rest to recover."

"I want to see for myself."

"Like Mitsuru said, she should focus on getting better." Akihiko chimed in

"Interesting..." Makoto said as he crossed his arms and legs "Tell me, what is she sick with..?"

"S-she's um..." That caught Yukari off guard, usually, she just needed to say she was sick and be done with it

"She has a fever." Mitsuru stepped in, being far more prepared than the others

"What was her temperature?" Makoto asked for details "101? 102? 103?"

Mitsuru was about to speak up, but Makoto cut her off with "Ah-ah... When I count to 3, I want all of you to answer at once."

Suddenly, panicked looks appeared on all of her faces with Mitsuru's being subtle, Akihiko being somewhere in the middle, and Yukari being obvious

"Hehe..." Makoto chuckled quietly as he stood back on his feet "A little tip, get better at lying." he advised as he went to the door

"See ya." He gave one greeting before leaving the shocked members off SEES alone. One thing was obvious to them, there was no fooling this bluenette.

* * *

**_Home_ **

"Hehe..." Makoto chuckled to himself as he kept thinking about what happened with SEES earlier "That was fun."

"And they were none the wiser." Pharos added as he chuckled with his friend before returning to his usual demeanor "So, are we visiting the tower today?"

"I guess." Makoto answered as he fell into his bed "Wake me when it's time to go."

And with that, the bluenette rested his eyes and let himself fall under Hypnos' spell...

_..._

_..._

_..._

_"I'm trying!" I really was... I tried my best_

_"Minato!" I was trying so hard... So hard... I just couldn't..._

_"Minato" And then... And then I..._

_"MINATO!"_

* * *

**_Later_ **

"Minato!" Makoto jumped out of bed as his nightmare ended, only to realize that he was still in his room, in his apartment.

Shaking his head, he turned to his old friend "Nightmare?" he asked, showing a bit of concern

"It's nothing." Makoto dismissed as he put on the same attire he wore when he went to the dorm "Time to go."

Pharos seemed reluctant but nodded to fulfill his friend's desire.

* * *

**_Streets_ **

Makoto wandered the silent streets under the green sky. Other than his footsteps and the occasional sound of the red liquid dripping from whatever surface it was on, there wasn't a single sound in the city that could be heard.

Honestly, if this wasn't an hour that killed people, it'd seem like something out of some *shitty teen romance novel that is almost physically painful to read.

Suddenly, in the alley next to him, Makoto heard a... _gunshot?_

Then, he heard a scream and what sounded like a body falling to the floor. Then, out of the alley, some punk kid crawled out with a bullet wound on his back. Considering its placement and that he'd have to wait for almost a full hour, there wasn't much hope for him.

The hooded boy looked to his right and saw three other people approaching. A tall, shirtless, and pale man wielding a gun, a young man with blue hair and glasses holding a briefcase, and a girl in a gothic dress and seemed to be clutching a sketchbook of all things.

"So, another blessed one with the gift appears before us..." The pale man spoke as he smiled at the dying boy "You should feel honored, you're life has led us to a new discovery." he said before aiming his gun "Our client has wished you dead, but accept deliverance knowing that you had more purpose than most."

Another gunshot, this one killing the boy who was squirming and begging for his life.

Makoto simply tilted his head "Who the hell are you?" he kept his voice a little lower and huskier than usual for the sake of anonymity

"We are merely children blessed with a divine gift." The pale man went on "We are known to most as Strega, you may call me Takaya." he turned to the others "This is Jin and Chidori."

"..." Makoto thought for a moment, he couldn't just give out his name, could he? What about- no, that was the name of a dead man... "I don't give names to strangers."

"Nor do you, child... Nor do you..." The way he said 'child' and referred to himself as one as well made it clear that he must've thought this hour was divine or something

"Hmm..." Perhaps they'd be useful for information "That tower that appears every night, what's it called?"

"You mean, The Tower Of Demise?" Takaya asked, a little surprised by the question

"Tower Of Demise?" Makoto repeated, could've used something shorter than that. That would've been nice "Good to know."

Then, Makoto began to walk away "Bye." he said casually

Takaya chucked silently "May fate allow us to cross paths again."

* * *

**_Tower_ **

Makoto entered the tower and observed the entrance.

This room felt deserted and the rest of the tower felt as if it was filled with Shadows.

To his right looked like some sort of transporter, likely as a means to reaching parts of the tower that one had already been to before.

To his left, it felt... off. He felt some kind of presence there, but that's it. It was like feeling a shadow but much more faint and he couldn't see anything.

"Weird." Makoto dismissed it, he couldn't see it so there was nothing he could do.

Makoto entered the first block of this very large tower, and lo and behold, there were tons of shadows. None of them posed any threat though, they all just cowered in fear of the boy as he just casually walked passed them as if they didn't even exist.

Makoto was about to just leave and call it a night, but then he heard the sound of rattling chains...

Makoto suddenly froze, there was only one other time in his life he'd heard the sound of chains like that.

He slowly turned around as he faced a very large shadow with chains wrapped around his torso like a cross, a bag around his head that revealed 1 bloodshot eye, A ghostly form that seemed to have almost no solid areas apart from it's head, and in each of it's hands was a long-barreled revolver.

"Incarcerator..."Unlike every other shadow that he'd ever encountered, this one actually spoke "You show yourself here, in this tower... After all of these years, you returned to your old home."

"And you are...?" Makoto asked, if he could talk then he probably had a name too

"I am the Reaper of Souls..." The shadow introduced itself "Just as you are the incarcerator of Death." The Reaper seemed to glare at Makoto "Isn't that right, Minato Ari-"

Makoto's eyes went bright blue the instant the shadow dared to utter that name and Thanatos manifested and attacked the shadow with his blade.

The Reaper was quicker than an ordinary shadow, though. With it's ghostly and seemingly weightless body, it moved out of the way of the attack.

At the same time, The Reaper took aim and fired a shot at Makoto.

The bluenette barely moved out of the way in time for the attack to miss his head.

Makoto actually chuckled, it'd been a while since a shadow put up any meaningful resistance. As fun as the idea was, he was also pressed for time and even with Thanatos, this fight would probably take some time.

"Kill ya next time!" Makoto said as he recalled his friend and ran up the nearest stairs.

This was apparently the end of the block and it was seemingly blocked off for some reason.

"Huh..." Makoto was actually a little disappointed "Well, that our adventure."

"I think the barrier will lift eventually." Pharos said confidently "Until then, we should leave."

"I want that shadow dead," Makoto said as he punched the wall next to him. If he dared to call him _that,_ then he deserved to die.

"Not yet..." Pharos tried to calm the boy "The hour is ending and we shouldn't be here when it does."

Makoto took a deep breath and thought about what his friend had said. He was right, being in here when the hour ends would probably end badly.

He exhaled before nodding to his friend and used the odd transporter to seemingly teleport back to the entrance.

Following his friend's instructions, he left just before the Dark Hour ended, with barely a second to spare.

Now, he had to leave before someone caught him and he'd get in trouble for trespassing or something.

Silently, the hooded boy cursed that shadow over and over as it's words replayed.

Minato Arisato...

That boy was dead. Long dead. He died by his family's side a long time ago. That was a name that only Pharos could call him and live to tell about it. That one-eyed bastard was going to pay dearly.

But, for now, it was a giant waiting game, this time a little longer than usual. SEES probably won't do anything without Kotone, so he'd have to wait a bit before he'd be able to learn about them.

Until then, it was a normal high-school life.

Well, as normal as it got for him anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Why did my younger self make that joke? Ugh, God, I hate past me so much.


	4. Chapter 4

**_School_ **

Makoto was sitting in his chair somewhat frustrated now. It'd been over a week now, and Kotone was _still_ out cold.

Honestly, it was getting ridiculous at this point. Over a week, and she's still sitting in a goddamn hospital. The only reason he knew _that_ was because he decided to search the hospital with Pharos during the Dark Hour one day to make sure she was actually alive.

As usual, the students were too idiot or uncaring to even question what ailment this girl could have that warranted over a week's absence. Apparently, being 'sick' is enough to shut everyone up nowadays or something.

That, or maybe it's because everyone was nearly drop-dead terrified of Mitsuru for some ungodly reason.

If he was to be perfectly honest, a part of him was actually starting to miss being annoyed by her. Give the girl some credit, she was at least unpredictable and provided variation to a normally dragged out and dull routine.

It took a while, but Junpei finally took the hint and left Makoto alone, much to his relief. It wasn't that he particularly disliked the boy, rather he just didn't care much for him. It'd be the equivalent of saying a dog in another country was hit by a car, you might feel bad but you likely won't lose any sleep over it.

Yukari opted to avoid the boy altogether after what happened last time, as did the other members of SEES (who were fortunate enough to _not_ share a class with him). More than that, there was just _something_ that felt wrong about the boy.

She couldn't say what it was, sure he came off as cold, somewhat rude, uncaring, and dick at times, but there was something else... Like the times when they had to stay behind for clean up duty, it'd never feel like it was just her and _him,_ despite them being the _only_ people in the room.

She had no idea what it was. She just knew that whatever it was, it was scary as hell.

He didn't even seem confused by her unease, if anything, he looked like he enjoyed it more than anything. The way he gave small smiles that felt unsettling despite them having no reason to seem so.

There was something deeply wrong with that boy.

The bell finally rang and the class had finally ended once again.

The bluenette sighed as he massaged his temples. This was the 10th day in a row, but there's still nothing.

Without her, SEES likely won't act. If SEES won't act, there'll be nothing happening with them nor will there be anything to learn.

One question is why do they need those gun things? What were they even called? He could summon without them without any problem, so was he just special?

What was their name for the so-called 'Tower Of Demise'? What was their relation to Strega (if there is one)? Most importantly, who the hell were they?

Where they just a group of kids? No, they're too well funded judging by the existence/craftsmanship of that 'gun'.

Actually, the very existence of that thing raised more questions that had to be answered. If those things exist and are used, that means there were tested at one point.

Who tested them? How were they tested? How did they even get the means to assemble the thing in the first place?!

Every time Makoto was near one of those 'guns', he felt something from within them. It was like, whatever made those things work was also reacting to Makoto for some reason.

If _that_ was a thing, that meant whatever that is must be connected to either personas, shadows, the Dark Hour, or all 3. If that's true, then they know much more than he does, and with Pharos having amnesia and Strega being a bunch of mercenaries at best, they're the only source of information he had currently.

 _Hmm..._ The boy thought to himself as he was quickly left the only one remaining in class. The brunette liked to visit that redhead every day, might as well try visiting her himself. At best, maybe some miracle would happen and she'd finally wake up, and at worst, he'd have something new to do now.

* * *

**_Hospital_ **

Makoto walked through the hospital halls with his hands in his pockets and his head hung low.

He already knew where her room was, the real question was when her damn dormmate would finally leave the room. Maybe she felt guilty or something, after all, she still couldn't fire the weapon she _knew_ wouldn't kill her.

The bluenette sighed as he leaned against the wall next to the door that led into her room. If he went in, he might scare her off and since Kotone got her ass kicked for her, she might say something useful as penance.

"Your turn again." He said to his little ghostly friend as he walked through the wall again "And no perversions this time..." he muttered which caused Pharos to let out an audible whine

"You know that guy you sit next to?" That sounded like Yukari, who was conveniently using him for a comparison "Well, I'm sorta like him. My dad died when I was little, and me and my mom aren't on good terms."

"Pf..." Makoto shook his head. She wasn't anywhere near the same level he was, he'd find that comparison a little insulting if it wasn't for her ignorance. On the plus side, unless she'd lost her mind, 'sleeping beauty' was finally awake.

Apparently, Yukari is here to learn the truth behind her father's death. Apparently, her father worked with the Kirijo group... Kirijo was also Mitsuru's surname. That's probably where they got most of their toys, but how'd the Kirijo group know? What other secrets does that group have?

The bluenette continued to listen, but most of it really was worthless. Just more and more sentimental hogwash until both felt it appropriate. Judging by how nothing was said, it was clear that what happened wasn't just her first summoning, she wasn't even an official member... _yet._

Of course, eventually, the brunette had to walk out and came face to face with Makoto.

"Hello." Makoto greeted simply, finding a small of amusement in Yukari's shock from seeing him

"W-What're you doing here?!" She asked right away, barely able to hide the slight shaking in her voice. Last time he appeared suddenly, he was easily able to figure out their lie, and now...

"Can't I visit my classmate when she's sick?" Makoto asked as he looked around and chuckled "Hospital, eh..? My, it must've been some fever. What kind of person would I be if I didn't see if she was alright?" he almost lost control and laughed when she began to slightly tremble.

He wasn't all that intimidating by looks alone (at least, not at the moment), rather she was so unprepared for this situation that she didn't have any idea what to do now. He obviously knew that they lied to him, and Kotone had just woken up so what excuse could she think of now?

Thoroughly amused, Makoto simply patted the girl on the head "Run along and play, little dove." he taunted before walking inside. Kotone may not be a member now, but she probably will be soon, might as well get close to her.

There was nothing really special about the room itself, it was an average hospital room from an above-average hospital.

"Welcome back." Makoto greeted the previously sleeping girl who was still in the hospital bed.

"Hiya." The girl returned the greeting as the bluenette sat in the chair next to her "Aw, I knew you cared."

Makoto rolled his eyes "Don't flatter yourself." He'd almost forgotten how... unique she was "I just wanted to know how long I'd be able to enjoy some peace and quiet." even if he was using her, he still had to be in character

"Hmph." Kotone turned her head away with a frown on her face "Meanie."

Makoto just shrugged casually "That might be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

Kotone instantly forgot what made her angry as her frown broke and she snickered, just the way he delivered that was simply hilarious.

Makoto leaned back into his chair and crossed his legs "Much as I hate to admit it, you're the most endearing person I've met in this city."

Kotone shook her head as she sighed and looked back at the boy "Is this supposed to be your way of starting over?"

"Fine..." Makoto groaned as he extended a hand to her "My name is Makoto Yuki, nice to meet you."

"Kotone Shiomi..." She returned the greeting as she took his hand "Nice to meet you, too, Makoto-kun." then she came close to crushing the boy's hand which made him cringe slightly "Don't think this gets you out of making me something as an apology."

Makoto grunted as he bit his lip "Y-You're still on that?" He had to give this girl some credit, she had a stronger grip than she looked "Alright, alright, you win."

That was enough to make her smile warmly like a child who was given a new toy "Good."

The bluenette shook his hand to relieve the pain and stood back up "I'll see you back at school tomorrow." he said before walking to the door "See ya."

"Bye-bye!" She returned as the bluenette left and walked home.

Even during the entire walk, Makoto was still shaking and rotating his hand "Holy shit, she's strong."

Pharos laughed as he followed his friend, always staying by his side like how a guard would defend his prince "I like her..."

"Which _part_ of her?" Makoto asked back as his hand felt somewhat normal enough to put back into his pocket

Pharos blinked "... A lot..." he said coyly, not wanting to give a proper answer

"You're lucky I love you, you little perv." Makoto said as he snickered, Pharos' perverted mind was pretty annoying but Makoto still loved the little guy.

* * *

**_"Home"_ **

Like every night, there was another waiting game. He didn't even plan for anything tonight, he just had a habit of waiting for the clock to strike 12 before going to bed.

Pharos never liked that. He thought that it wasn't healthy for Makoto to constantly do that almost every night, but at the same time knew that he'd be upset if he didn't so he kept silent.

Another habit that scared him was Makoto's constant self-harm as they continued to wait. Currently, Makoto was using a knife to vertically cut the flesh from his wrist all the way until he hit his elbow. Of course, he always healed him so that it was as if the damaged never happened in the first place, even the blood that was lost and fell into the bowl below in preparation was almost instantly replaced.

If he was being honest, Pharos wasn't completely sure if Makoto did that because he'd be healed or if he was hoping the one day he wouldn't. He's been with the boy for a long time, but there were many things even he didn't know about him.

All he wanted was for him to be happy, but he seemed to either be unwilling or unable to do so. And that was why they were here, where it all started. Perhaps here; here they'd be able to find the ones responsible and make them pay for what happened to him... and them.

There were many gaps in his memory, gaps that if filled, perhaps they'd lead to some answers. Those answers would hopefully help lead them to their goal. That was all the mysterious child wanted for his friend.

Friend... At first, Makoto shunned him, knowing exactly what he truly was... What he had done. But he soon realized that Pharos was no better than an animal then, and when someone sets loose a wild animal, who do you blame?

Do you blame the animal that acted out of nothing but instinct? Or do you blame the one that deliberately set the beast loose in the first place, knowing full well what would/could happen?

It was for this reason, that Pharos would continue to protect Makoto to the best of his ability. It was for this reason that Makoto only trusted Pharos, and Pharos alone.

Everyone responsible must pay... Everyone connected to what happened must pay... They. All. Must. Pay.

Every single last one of them, and if any decided to get in their way... they were just as guilty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, writing Makoto used to be fun. I mean, the writing quality hurts for me to read after all this time, but damn, was Makoto fun to write.
> 
> On another note, I now realize how short my chapters used to be. Damn, no wonder why my updates used to be so much faster back then. It all makes sense now.


	5. Chapter 5

**_School_ **

Now that Kotone was back, the school had returned to its usual dull self. Of course, Makoto had to deal with her pestering him every now and then, but at least it provided variation, whereas he just slept through everything before.

Though, he'd been very busy watching SEES during their nightly activities. He knew that Mitsuru and Akihiko were veteran persona users, though not nearly as good as he was. Yukari, Kotone, and now even Junpei were all amateurs, but seem to be quickly getting the hang of things.

Interestingly, Kotone was elected as the leader since Mitsuru used her persona for support and Akihiko was still injured from Arcana Magician. More interestingly, she could often be seen spacing out at the same spot where Makoto felt that faint presence.

He never actually saw them fight though, Pharos may have been able to avoid Mitsuru's detection, but he wasn't invisible. He was able to hide from sight just outside the tower that they called 'Tartarus'.

During the day, Junpei liked to visit the arcade or simply go to the dorm where the rest of SEES lived.

Yukari occasionally hanged out with friends, liked shopping, occasionally visited a sweet shop, or just went home.

Akihiko liked to eat beef bowls... a lot of them, and seemed to be somewhat obsessed with training, but couldn't due to his injury.

Mitsuru just went home after handling the Student Council responsibilities. She clearly wasn't interested in any 'distractions'.

Kotone, on the other hand, was quickly becoming the very definition of a social butterfly. Every day, she seemed to focus on making and spending time with as many friends as possible, almost to the point it was as if she _had_ to be with them or something.

Makoto spent his days as he usually did. All he did was go home, sleep, wake up and wait for the Dark Hour, and then he either explored Tartarus to see how far SEES had gotten, spied on SEES, or just went back to bed. It suited him, not a lot of people to interact with and he has a lot of time to himself.

As usual, the moment school ended he listened to his earphones as he left class, the song playing blocking out all the other students. A little game he liked to play was guessing why all the other students look happy, sad, angry, etc.

The girl crying on the bench probably just went through a breakup.

A group of guys in some sports teams probably lost the game or something.

Kotone standing in the main hall waiting for him-

Wait, what?

Makoto took off his earphones as he tilted his head confused "Um... Yes?"

"Hello, Makoto-kun." She greeted with a smile on her face like always, seemingly radiated a pleasant and warm aura that contrasted with Makoto's eerie and cold one "You _do_ remember what you owe me, right?"

The boy let out an exasperated sigh, she really was dead-serious about this. Either she really liked eating, or she really wanted to get to know him under any means possible... He couldn't tell which one was weirder or more annoying.

Pharos reappeared, standing next to Kotone "You _did_ agree to it." he reminded the bluenette

Makoto groaned for a moment "Fine~... Follow me." he said as he walked past the redhead "Congrats, you get to see where I live."

"Yay me," Kotone said quietly to herself as she followed the boy.

On the way there, Makoto noticed that Pharos had his head down for most of the trip. He rarely seemed bothered by anything as long as Makoto was fine, but now... What was wrong?

"What's up?" He whispered quietly as to not get the girl's attention

"She wears shorts..." Pharos responded which nearly made Makoto break into a fit of laughter on the spot. Pharos had one critical weakness, and that was girls who wore shorts underneath their skirts.

* * *

**_"Home"_ **

"And here we are." Makoto said as he held the door and let his guest in "Home sweet home."

"Hmm..." Kotone looked around, seemingly eyeing anything and everything. He'd been here for a few weeks at this point, but it looked almost completely barren. There was evidence that he spent some time here since, while not messy, the apartment had a few things lying around.

Interestingly, there was even a board game or two out, even though Makoto was the only one who lived there.

"Someone else live here, too?" Kotone asked the boy who still had that blank, emotionless face to the point where one would have to be _extremely_ good at reading people to even _remotely_ understand what was going on in his head.

"No." He answered directly, answering in one worded sentences like usual.

Unlike everyone else he had ever met, Kotone didn't seem terribly bothered by that "Then what's with the board games? Y-You..." She looked very concerned for a moment "You don't play against yourself... Do you?"

Makoto avoided eye contact "... My friend likes them." he answered vaguely. If he said yes, then that'd raise concern and concern leads to seeing people a lot more.

"Who?" She'd seen a lot of people around school, but he paid no attention to the girls and the guys didn't seem to like being around him for even a moment

"No one you'd know, let's leave it at that," Makoto said, wanting to change the subject as quick as possible

"If you say so..." She replied, taking the hint. Instead, she continued to look around. He was definitely a man of simple of taste and was obviously not a people person. Other than that, she barely knew much about him, he was pretty much an enigma.

The redhead then sat on the sofa in front of the TV that looked like it wasn't used too often.

As far as aesthetics go, the walls were white with a dark blue carpet everywhere except the kitchen which had black and white tiles. The whole place just felt like... nothing. It was like when you enter a hotel, it's a place to stay but not a home.

"Feels a bit empty here." She gave her honest opinion of the place

"I didn't bring you here to criticize my home." He responded as he rolled his eyes "What do you want?"

Kotone shrugged her shoulders "You pick."

Makoto stood there for a moment as he blinked. So, she was trying to figure out what he liked by giving him the choice? She may act like a child at times, but she wasn't a complete idiot.

"Fine." He agreed as he went to the kitchen. He wasn't going to give his 'A' game for this, but there was no reason to piss her off by putting in no effort. It wasn't going to be anything special, but it was something.

...

...

...

Some time later, the two of them were sitting at the table with a pilaf of curried rice with pieces of peas, meat, and onions mixed in as well.

Kotone just took 1 bite out of it, and she fell in love. She didn't know what sorta magic he performed in the kitchen, but it was absolutely amazing. Just the way everything perfectly blended in together...

Makoto simply ate at his usual pace as Kotone just started to wolf the thing down, luckily he gave her a very large portion.

She had nearly forgotten her true reason for coming her until she tried to swallow too much and had to drink some water to wash it down, and thus ended up looking at the boy on the other side again.

"Um..." She had to think about this. He wasn't an easy person to hold a conversation with, but she also knew very little about him on a personal level so it was even harder. If she didn't have any good questions, then it was time to ask basic ones.

"Uh... What's your favorite color?" She asked almost as awkwardly as she felt

"Blue." He answered without even a moment in hesitation. This was going to take awhile.

"What's your favorite song?" She asked next, desperate for an answer that wasn't just a few words

"Don't have any." He responded the whole time not even looking at her.

This was quickly getting ridiculous "Have you ever.. licked a lamppost in winter?"

"No." It was like he was trying to set a record for answering with as few words as possible

She did have one embarrassing question that worked on every guy, he'll either get embarrassed and stutter a bit, ask why she's asking, or be boastful...

"Have you ever kissed a girl?" She asked with a sly grin. He was still a teenage boy, surely that'd get some form of reaction out of-

"No." Apparently not, she was honestly starting to question if he was even human at this point. Every other boy of his age that she'd asked this for fun, almost always freaked out.

Wait, he came here around the same time she did, there was one question left.

"H-How're you liking the city so far?" She asked one of the most basic questions "I mean, you're new here, too, right?"

"..." He paused for a moment, almost as if he didn't want to answer "... I was born here." This place was almost exactly as he remembered it, despite it being 10 years later. He the crowded spots was still crowded with people, people still whined about school relentlessly, and there was an oddly welcoming atmosphere... During the day, anyway. The only real difference between now and then was that they... they...

"Hey!" The girl shouted and snapped her fingers as the bluenette shook his head as he awoke from his daze "Gee, thought I lost you to Apathy Syndrome for a moment there."

Apathy Syndrome... Such a weird name for an ailment. Those who fell victim to shadows didn't appear as those black blobs in reality. On this end of the world, they basically go completely brain dead.

"Why're you here?" He asked as he looked her straight in the eye "You got what you wanted... You don't have any reason to stay, nor ask any questions about my personal life."

She shrugged as if this was just a casual everyday thing "You looked lonely."

"I'm not." As long as he had Pharos, he was never lonely

"Oh yeah? You said you have 1 friend..." She narrowed her eye suspiciously, her tone sounding like a child pretending to be a detective "What's their name?"

 _"Shit..."_ Makoto thought to himself as he clenched his left fist that was under the table. She actually managed to back him into a corner. If he told the semi-truth, then she'd ask more follow up questions, and who knew where that could lead. If he didn't say anything, then she'd consider it a lie and try to be around him more.

No matter what, there was no good end to this for him.

"Alright, fine, you win..." He responded, no one else could know about Pharos... No one could understand.

That was enough to make Kotone's smirk shift into a cheeky grin "So if I decided to spend more time with you..."

Makoto supported his head with his right elbow as he frowned with cold eyes "... I hate you." he complained

"Uh-huh..." She giggled before she stopped abruptly. She just seemed to zone out suddenly as she placed a hand on her head, before mumbling something along the lines of "... Death, huh?"

"What?" Makoto asked, doing his best to hide the feeling of paranoia that came over him at that moment.

 _"Did she just say 'Death'?"_ She couldn't of known about _him_ , right?

She shook her head and blinked rapidly "I-It's nothing!" She quickly said as she stood up, and looked embarrassed rather scared. Whatever the reason behind what she said, it was probably unrelated to Pharos if it actually embarrassed her.

"Okay~" He said awkwardly before leaning back into his chair, feeling the urge to sleep soon "You can leave if you want, I'll clean the place up."

She nodded "Until next time, Makoto-kun." she said farewell before going to the door "Thanks for the food."

"Whatever." He responded with his usual disinterest as he pushed the door shut when she left

 _"She's going to be a bigger pain in the ass than I thought..."_ Makoto mused to himself, he thought that she'd be good for basic information on SEES' condition or something should they ever discover his status of being a persona user.

_Hmm... I like her._

"You already said that, Pharos." He reminded his strange friend

"I didn't say anything." The 'boy' responded as he tilted his head confused. Whatever Makoto was talking about, he didn't hear any of it.

"Huh?" Makoto looked back and saw the confusion in Pharos' eyes. He looked around, but there was no one else around. Whatever he heard, only he heard.

"Guess it was nothing." He dismissed it as him just hearing things before yawning "I'm goin' to bed, you know the drill..." He said as he walked to his bedroom

Pharos looked down, knowing that this night would be the same as last night, and the night before that, and the one before that, and the one before that, and the one before that...


	6. Chapter 6

_**Home** _

"Minato!" Pharos shouted into his friend's ear to wake him up.

With a groan, Makoto very slowly woke up and at an even slower pace, he opened his left eye "I'm up... I'm up..."

The younger looking boy paused for a moment before saying "Minato, there's something important."

The bluenette suddenly went serious as any sleep left his eyes "What is it?"

"Another one of those shadows will appear again tonight," He warned his friend "I don't know where, yet..."

Makoto got off his bed and onto his feet "Let me know when you're ready tonight. I'll tear that thing a-fucking-sunder."

Pharos nodded satisfied. It was a little worrisome to see Makoto this excited over the prospect of killing something, but no one mourns a shadow. Besides, it wasn't because he was excited to kill, he was just happy to do something for his only friend.

* * *

**_School_ **

Makoto did his usual and just sat through classes while zoning out and answering whatever he had to when he was called on. It really wasn't tricky. Oddly, most of the questions were more like parts of a trivia game more than anything, such as asking when numbers were invented.

He honestly wondered what the entire point of school was at this point. He never thought about it when he was still a child, but that was a long time ago.

Now, now he could see how pointless everything was in the grand scheme.

You learn a few things while you forget most of it, even acknowledging that it was a waste of time. That time just so happened to be most of your youth, almost all for nothing.

Besides, isn't living pointless, to begin with? You're born, grow up, live for a while, grow old, then die. Humans tend to live maybe 60 - 80 years and are overall unimportant in the grand scheme of things really.

People try to make excuses for living, but they're only excuses that are extremely flawed.

Family? All organisms are programmed to try and preserve their genes, but all that does is throw more of them into the chaotic flux.

Happiness? What use is it if you just die anyway? No one will care if you were happy, sad, or bitter. You WILL die, and no one will remember you give it a few decades at most.

Everything in life is pointless if it all leads to the same end. Some may say that it's the journey that matters, but what use is a journey to the same conclusion? Especially since, as stated before, they won't remember you. Everyone forgets and moves on.

Was there something that he didn't know? Was there a concept that he has not yet grasped? Is there any explanation for anything?

Or did that die alongside Minato and the rest of his family all those years ago?

It was a question that had no answer. All Makoto could do was just slog through life as long as he could. Pharos wouldn't let him die, and if living was pointless then there was no harm for Makoto existing as long as Pharos wished it.

Besides, he still had an objective to complete...

That one objective was all he had. It was the closest thing he had for a reason to live.

Someone summoned the Devil and sold their soul that day, and now Makoto was playing the role of the collector. Once that was done... Maybe he could die, satisfied with the life he had lived? Or maybe then, just then, he'd finally find an answer to his many questions.

Only time would tell... The infamous waiting game.

* * *

**_Home_ **

Makoto sat on a chair and looked out his window from his apartment's living room.

Slowly, the day began to turn to night as he just sat there motionless like a mannequin, remaining dead-silent the whole time.

The only sounds that could be heard from the room were the slow, but steady pace in which blood dropped from his left arm which he himself mutilated and into the bowl below to avoid any major mess.

He knew that anyone who saw this would instantly say he needed help, but he was beyond help at this point.

He did try, though... He tried talking to all those 'experts' that claimed to understand, but they didn't know a damn thing. No one knew him, he was nothing to them so they were nothing to him.

He didn't give up on the world, the world gave up on him a long time ago. He'd been left to rot and suffer, it'd reached the point where he was alive simply because he had a pulse, not because he was 'living'.

And so, he regularly did this to himself. He had to experience the pain so he could remember that he wasn't dead or in some twisted afterlife. And since he had Pharos, there was no risk of him ever dying to this either.

Of course, he always felt very cold when he did this to himself. While the blood was replaced, his body couldn't adjust to the constant loss and resupply quickly enough to keep him as his usual self, instead, he just sat where he was cold and motionless.

Despite him doing this to himself, he didn't actually enjoy it. He just desperately needed some form of confirmation that he was still alive, though, neither he nor Pharos knew what answer he wanted.

Eventually, the Dark Hour settled in and the wound on his arm instantly healed, this time fully closing the injury.

As soon as this happened, despite his body still needing to adjust to the massive blood loss/resupply, he just stood back on his feet and nearly fell multiple times as he got the disguise he typically wore when he went out now.

It didn't take long for his body to adjust to the new blood once the wound was closed. After all, technically it was _his_ blood that he was given by Pharos, it just couldn't keep up with the constant drainage.

As soon as he got his disguise on, he turned to Pharos who had been trying all day to avoid thinking about his friend's destructive habits. Sadly, it might've been the few things that kept him functioning, so Pharos kept his objection silent even though he knew that Makoto would stop if he asked

"Where to?" Makoto asked, ready to tear whatever shadow got in his way to pieces.

"A monorail at Port Island Station." The mysterious boy answered.

* * *

**_Tracks_ **

Walking on the tracks, Makoto very easily found the train with the help of Pharos.

Suspiciously, the doors were wide open despite it being nowhere near a station for about another 10 minutes.

"I think it's a trap," Pharos warned as he stared at the train with his friend

"Of course it is," Makoto responded with a sigh. The shadow was _in_ the train, so there was no way to get it without playing by its rules.

Then, he heard footsteps coming from his left.

"Shit.." He muttered as he used a Garu spell to get on top of the train and receded to lie on his stomach as quietly as possible as he listened in.

Surprisingly enough, SEES decided to stick their noses into this too. From what he could hear from below, Mitsuru sensed the shadow and decided to send Kotone, Yukari, and Junpei to take care of it.

Then, he heard someone start climbing only to stop abruptly "Don't look up." That sounded like Yukari

Makoto nearly slammed his head _Why would you go first, you moron?!_

After that, he heard the rest climb inside the train... Followed almost instantly by the doors slamming themselves shut.

Makoto stood up "Well... Shit." They managed to walk straight into a trap and now he had to find his own way in.

Considering all the easy ways in were gone anyway, he decided to start running from the rail car he was on to the one in the front where the shadow was.

After running and jumping onto the top of a few of the cars, the entire thing just started moving at full speed.

The boy was caught completely off guard by the sudden speed that he lost his footing and practically bounced on the rail cars as the acceleration forced him almost all the way back before he could get a grip on the edge of one of them.

Barely hanging on, the bluenette knew he had to act fast. He was right by a closed door, he just had to force the thing open.

Risking his life by letting one of his arms go and allowing a sword to materialize (another great gift from his personas), he jammed it right in between the doors that held it shut.

Using all of his strength, he forced the onside partly open and proceeded to let go of the edge of the train and rely solely on the doors to keep him from falling off the train.

With his hands between the doors and his sword having dematerialized, he used everything he had to force those doors open. Whatever shadow caused them to shut, did _not_ have any intention of letting any him in.

But, he wasn't the only one.

Thanatos appeared behind Makoto, and he himself helped force those doors open which let the boy in with ease.

Makoto looked back, smiling underneath his scarf. Thanatos was just another one of Pharos' many gifts and was even a part of both of them in a way.

"You're too big for this place, boy." The bluenette warned, careful to keep his voice extremely low so that no one else could hear him should them be in the vicinity "Don't worry, I got this." With that, The Bringer Of Death faded away.

He was about to simply continue moving forward, but he was stopped when he heard to familiar voices shout

"You!"

He looked back and saw SEES approaching him. Actually, it was only the girls... Where the hell was Junpei?

"How'd you get here?" Yukari asked. Junpei hurt his fingers trying to slightly squeeze through the gaps, so what about him?

Rather than answer, Makoto opted to just stare blankly as a signal that she wasn't going to get an answer.

"We can worry about that later." Kotone dismissed, knowing there were bigger problems "Look, we're in this together. So like or not, we need to work together."

Makoto tilted his head and outstretched his arms sightly to signal that he needed more info

"The train is about to collide with another train!" Kotone screamed, seemingly more angry than scared "To top it off, our teammate Junpei decided to be a moron and charge ahead."

The redhead looked straight into the boy's dimly glowing eyes, her expression was dead-serious almost like she was a different person right now "The shadow causing this is in the front car, so unless you wanna die, you need to work with us. Got it?"

Not seeing any reason to object, he nodded silently. This was a perfect opportunity to see them fight.

"Then let's go!" With that, the three of them began to run as fast as they could through the various cars

"Do you have a weapon?" Yukari asked as they ran

Makoto reached out his right arm and once again allowed a sword to materialize in his hand. She seemed satisfied by that response.

Soon, they found Junpei who was (poorly) fighting 3 shadows all at once.

"I-I got this!" He declared before one of them pushed him back.

Makoto sighed, this was actually painful to watch.

Without saying a word, he walked to Junpei who had just gotten back on his feet and pulled him back.

Then a black flame spread throughout the blade of the boy's sword. Even if he couldn't summon Thanatos, he could still channel his persona's power(s)

Makoto followed this with a single horizontal strike and a wave of black flame incinerated the shadows instantly.

"Hey, I had it under-" This was followed by a slap from Kotone

"In case you haven't noticed, the train is fucking _moving!"_ She pointed out which made Junpei lookout

"Holy shit, when'd that happened?!" He must've been so engrossed in the fight that he was distracted to such an extent that he didn't even notice the train started to move.

As much as he'd love to watch them bicker, Makoto was quite aware of the time they had, and quickly stomped his foot to get their attention while tapping his wrist as if he was wearing a watch.

"I'll kick your ass later, let's stop this train" Kotone ordered, not wanting to waste time as they ran for it again.

Makoto had to admit, he was a little surprised that this was the same girl that annoyed the hell outta him in school.

After going through another car, they finally reached the front car where a large shadow awaited them.

This one was very feminine, with the letters B and J on her breast. The entirety of the shadow was black and white, with the roman numeral for "2" on its face identifying this one was a Priestess.

"What the hell?!" Junpei exclaimed, shocked by the sudden appearance of the shadow

Priestess, however, had no such hesitation. The cold chill of an ice spell known to persona users as a 'Bufu' spell was approaching.

"Jack Frost!" Kotone exclaimed as she fired her gun-like object.

Surprising Makoto, an entirely different persona than the one he had to see her use before came out and seemingly blocked the Bufu spell entirely.

The bluenette just stood and watched as SEES attacked.

From his observations, he quickly learned that Yukari was very fragile but an excellent healer and specialized in Garu spells. Junpei was a heavy hitter and specialized in both physical and fire otherwise known as Agi based attacks.

Kotone was... Whatever she wanted to be. She could freely switch personas just like Makoto could, something that piqued the boy's interest a great deal.

His passivity didn't go unnoticed, however.

Yukari looked back and glared "Would you DO something already?!" she screamed before summoning her persona to heal Junpei again

The boy sighed again as he put his sword away, it _was_ time to end this.

He reached his right arm out and glared at the Priestess who took notice of him and glared back.

 _"Die..."_ He thought as a mass of dark energy appeared behind him before taking the form of a spike which tore the shadow apart piece by piece. When he said to Pharos that he'd tear it asunder, he meant it quite literally.

Within seconds, the shadow was gone. Even without Thanatos' help, Makoto was still above whatever the shadows could throw at him.

Junpei slouched as he sighed "Glad that's over."

Yukari gasped as she looked out the window "Wait, we're still moving!" she pointed out "We're going to fast!"

Makoto just stood quietly. He'd gotten what he wanted and Pharos would prevent him from dying. Besides, they walked into this trap to begin with.

Yukari and Junpei's screamed filled the air as Mitsuru screamed on the comms (that miraculously worked) that the train was about to collide with another one.

...

...

...

Then, the train suddenly stopped.

Junpei and Yukari looked up and saw that Kotone had pulled the breaks while Makoto just stood there was if nothing had happened.

Not even wanting to hear what they have to say, Makoto left the moment the train stopped and walked away with his hands in his pockets and his head down. They weren't his team, so whatever they had to say wasn't his business...

"Hey!" But apparently Kotone wasn't done with him.

The boy stopped and waited for the girl to reach him, and then let her caught her breath before letting her speak

"I never got a chance to say this before, but thanks for saving me that one time." She thanked, seemingly going back to her usual demeanor

Makoto's eye widened slightly and he blinked rapidly from surprise. He didn't expect that one.

"I.. Take it you know who we are, right?" She asked him, she'd already heard about him from Mitsuru earlier

He nodded silently.

"I know who you are... don't I?" She asked which caused Makoto's heart to sink "That's why you're giving the silent treatment, right."

Makoto tilted his head, slumped his shoulders, and gave a look at his eyes that said 'Really?'

Kotone laughed a bit "Yeah, I guess that _is_ a dumb question, isn't it." she acknowledged the stupidity of the question "Well... Bye." Then, she left to regroup with her team.

He shook his head before turning around and continuing his way home. He still had enough time to make it home before the Dark Hour ends.

"Weird ass girl," Makoto said to his friend who was with him wherever he went

"I think she's nice." Pharos gave his honest opinion of the girl

"Whatever." He dismissed. The boy didn't need anyone else in his life... It all ends the same way, after all.

_"I think I'd like to see her again later."_

"Yeah, Yeah, Pharos," Makoto said as he rolled his eyes

"I... Didn't say anything." Pharos said, clearly confused by what he just said

"Huh?" Makoto looked all around him. He _knew_ he heard something, but the only ones there were him and Pharos.

"What the fuck?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh shit, I should say this now: Not a realistic depiction. If you're still lost, it'll all make sense later. Do NOT look to this for accuracy. 
> 
> Meanwhile, here's an actual little piece of trivia about the fic. I originally made this to actually have a lot more fight scenes. Why? Because I am terrible at them and I wanted to get better. Spoiler: That didn't pan out too well, even leading to the creation of one of the fic's bigger mistakes, that was thankfully corrected... eventually.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bwahahaha! I just read the start of this and... wow, I can't believe I had Makoto do that. I regret nothing.

**_Home_ **

_"What the hell is going on...?"_ Makoto thought as he took off his hoodie and put his hair that had been slicked back down again.

"Do you think she knows?" Pharos asked, not following Makoto's concern

"She was bluffing." He answered confidently as he tossed the scarf to the side and slowly took a seat "She's smart, but I doubt she could've figured that out..." he said as he repeatedly tapped his finger on the table

"She... She was just shaking the tree to see what falls..." he said, his voice trailing off as many thoughts came to mind.

That voice he heard...

Who was it? It couldn't have been him. Of course, it couldn't! No one doesn't know their own thoughts!

What was it? Something working worming its way into the back of his mind? If so, for what purpose? 

What was going on...? Has he finally snapped?

"Are you alright?" Pharos asked concerned

"I'll be fine." Makoto said as he stood back "Look, tell me if you remember anything later. I... I need some time, okay?"

The younger boy nodded "As you wish." before fading away. A lot happened tonight, it was best that they sleep it off for now.

* * *

**_Mall_ **

Makoto sat alone on a bench as he watched the world around him continue. He didn't have anything to do with school being out and there was nothing to gain by staying in his apartment all day.

He had no idea what that voice he had heard twice now was, but there was no way for him to find out now. All he could do was try and get by until the day was over.

Then, he noticed a crane machine right next to the arcade.

"Hmm..." Makoto stood up and walked to the machine and saw what the prize was...

... A small Jack Frost plushie.

He quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching so that there's be no witnesses as to what he was about to do.

He quickly inserted some yen and began to move the claw to one of the toys.

"C'mon, c'mon..." He whispered gently as the claw picked up the toy that he managed to position it over just right.

Makoto reached and pulled out his very own Jack Frost plushie.

He heightened the pitch in his voice and said "Hiya, Mako!" he shook the toy as 'Jack' spoke, "I wanna be your new friend because you're **_snow, snow_** cool!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Makoto's fun was halted when he heard the sound of someone laughing... wait.. no... no... what were the odds...? What were the odds that the one that caught him was the one person he'd never want to see him dressed in boots, black leggings, an orange sweater, and complemented by a red scarf.

"S-S-So imagine this.." Kotone said as she barely managed to control her belly laugh "I went to go get a yawn-b-gone after a rough night and then I find the **_snow, snow_** cool Makoto Yuki playing with- Ha ha ha!"

Makoto was frozen in place as his red face contrasted with his dark blue hair.

"U-Uh..." There was no recovering from this one. He could only try to regain his normal demeanor as he frowned and said "You saw _nothing._ " he sounded like he was informing her rather than warning her.

This, however, only made the girl laugh even harder "Aw, are you embarrassed?" she teased, sounding like she was talking to a 5-year-old

"Stop it!" He demanded, silently wishing that he'd die there and then.

"How would everyone react if they knew that the mean, mean Makoto-kun liked to play with dolls?" She asked as she looked up, all sorts of possible mayhem going through her mind.

"Don't you dare," Makoto demanded as he glared at her, regaining the usual cold aura that seemed to radiate from him.

Unfortunately for him, that didn't work on her "You want me to tell everyone that bad?" She asked with a smirk before turning around "Okay, I'll go tell-"

"What do you want?!" He asked which made her stop. If she was teasing him this much, then she must've wanted something from him, whatever _that_ may be.

She turned back around with the same mischievous smirk on her face "Hmm... What should I do?" she pondered as she put her hand to her chin "Do what _I_ want? Or listen to the big meanie?" She named her options "What to choose, what to choose..."

"Oh, come on!" He complained. He just wanted to indulge his rarely seen childish side, he didn't want any of this.

"Well, I _may_ be convinced if you have coffee with me at the cafe here..." She relayed her demand "Whaddya say **_snow, snow_** cool Makoto-kun?"

The boy looked down as he used his fringe to hide his blood-red face "Whatever it takes to make you forget."

Kotone giggled in satisfaction as she walked to the boy and patted him on the head "It's a date then."

He looked back up and glared daggers into her "What am I? On your hit list?"

She laughed some more "And you're the primary target." It looks like that no matter what, he was now her personal slave. All of this because of his love for plushies that he never outgrew... Was this god's way of punishing him or something?

...

...

Makoto kept his head down as he sat across from the devil herself in the cafe. He briefly wondered if fate itself was trying to torture him by making him encounter this girl over and over.

"So, how was your day?" She asked as she gently bobbed her head left and right in tune with the music that was playing all over the mall

"Suddenly, much worse." He answered with a mumble, he could almost _feel_ his dignity (which was already in short supply to begin with) just burn away

"Come on, don't be like that..." She asked before taking a sip of the coffee she ordered, "I mean, at least you're with one of the prettiest girls in the school."

Makoto looked back up with an annoyed frown. He was hearing voices, was on a manhunt, and was trying to figure out how the Kirijo group was connected to the Dark Hour and/or his family; The last thing he needed was bullshit like this "I'm not here to feed your ego."

She blinked "Wow, you're hostile today." she noted as she leaned slightly forward, her expression and voice going from upbeat to concerned "Something happen, Mako-kun?"

"Don't call me that." He demanded before looking back down "And it's none of your damn business."

Kotone gave a glare of her own and kicked him straight into the shin " _Don't_ talk to me like that." she demanded, using the same confident and authoritative tone she used last night

The boy grunted in pain as he rubbed his leg under the table as his cold glare got colder

"And just what has you worked up today?" She asked, still using her leader-voice while keeping it level enough as to not cause a scene

He glared into her crimson eyes "Maybe it's because some girl I barely know is forcing me to do something I don't want to do and then feels she has the right to know my personal life."

"Liar." She replied instantly "You weren't nearly this bad when we had dinner the other day, and you did look annoyed but not hostile then too, so don't even try saying it was 'in the moment' to me." she continued before narrowing her eyes "So I'll ask again: Did something happen?"

He let out a "Hmph..." as he leaned back over the table and looked down "Yes, _something_ happened." he answered vaguely

"Okay." She said as she dropped her frown and sipped her coffee again

The boy froze for a moment as he blinked rapidly "T-That's it?"

"Yup..." She answered as she leaned back into her seat "Was that worth getting all worked up for?" she raised an eyebrow

Makoto leaned even further back surprised and now feeling guilty for his little outburst.

 _Pf, you asked for it..._ Makoto thought

_I should apologize..._

The boy almost instantly froze the moment he heard that. That voice again... where the hell was it coming from?

Kotone closed her eye as she sighed before looking at the bluenette again "Look, you're right that I haven't given you much choice, so I'm sorry for that." she apologized "But that doesn't excuse being an ass hat."

The boy looked back down.

 _"Insults, insults, insults... Like I need to take this kind of bullshit from her."_ Makoto thought

 _Just apologize and let bygones be bygones._ The voice spoke again

Yuki leaned slightly forward again and looked to the side "I.. I..." he audibly groaned before weakly saying "... sorry."

The redhead smiled and she returned to her usual warm and comforting demeanor "Thank you, Makoto-kun" she thanked "So, how was your day?"

The boy looked off to the side and saw Pharos looking at some of the other customers "... Fine."

"Still can't believe it, though." She said before giggling again "You're into dolls, huh?"

"I-I'm not into dolls, just..." He looked down again, but this wasn't like all the other times. This time, he had a sad look in his eyes. "... Someone close to me really liked them, once upon a time."

"Oh..." She said, taking the hint. Whoever this person was, he/she must've meant a lot to him. Suddenly, she felt pretty bad for blackmailing him to come here "You know, I didn't really mean what I said, right?" she asked, her voice sounding much softer "You can leave if you want."

"Hmm..." The boy hummed as he thought to himself. He could leave now and there'd be no hard feelings, but would that really be right? She wasn't _that_ bad, but still...

 _"Just leave."_ Makoto thought to himself " _Just like she said, she blackmailed me into this."_

 _"Maybe I should stay..."_ The voice said _"... What else is there to do?"_

The bluenette froze as he considered the two options... Stay or go...? Stay or go...?

"Hey!" She called as she snapped her fingers in front of him "You still in there?"

"Y-Yeah..." He both stuttered and nodded "I mean, I... I guess I'll stay." he gave an answer which made the girl smile again

"Oh~..." She donned her mischievous smirk again "Thinking you'll get lucky, are we?"

"..." Makoto just looked at her blankly "Is this a trick question?"

"Pfffff!" The girl snickered and nearly banged her head on the table "That's... That's a very good answer."

"What about you?" He asked which made the girl stop laughing and instead be very confused

"What about me?" She asked, not understanding what he was implying

"You know my favorite color is blue, you know I've never been with anyone before, and you know that I'm an orphan." He relayed what was already known about him "So, what about you?"

"What about me... Hmm," She looked up as she thought about what to say "My favorite color is red, but orange is nice..."

"I figured..." He muttered, his assumption is based off the fact that what little of her wardrobe he'd seen always had some form of red in it

"I'm an only child, and before I came here I lived with my dad." She finished

"What about your mom?" Makoto asked, normally kids lived with their mothers as opposed to their fathers

She shrugged her shoulders "I dunno. She left me and him years ago."

"Oh.." Was all he could say "You... can just casually say that?"

"Why not?" She asked back as she sipped her now nearly empty cup of coffee "She did it when I was, like, 5. Not a lot to dwell on when it's how you were raised your entire life, at least the bits that you actually remember."

"I see..." He said as he pondered what she said. Not much to dwell on... Yet, here he was. Still remembering what happened when he was around that age... What did that say about him?

Then, a thought crossed his mind

"Wait, is this all a date is?" He asked, remembering her use of 'date' earlier "Just sitting around and talking?" From the big deal everyone made of them in school, he expected a bit more.

"I dunno." She answered as she shrugged "Never been on one." And apparently, she was just as clueless as he was

"Then about this..." He asked as he supported his head with his arm "Wanna go see a movie then? It's cliched, but..."

Kotone jumped out of her seat immediately "Well? What're we waiting for?"

And that answered that...

* * *

**_Outside the Theater_ **

The two ended up settling for some fantasy thriller that was an adaptation of a novel about a girl who finds that another realm that seems to be her ideal world isn't all it's made up to be (basically, Coraline (Good movie, by the way)).

Even though Makoto didn't think it'd be much, it was actually pretty good. Also, some of the tense scenes also somehow made him feel like it increased his courage... But that was impossible, right?

 _That was a waste of time..._ Makoto thought, fun or not that time could've been spent more productively than being with some pretty girl

 _It was fun. Simple as that._ The still unknown voice said

"That was a pleasant surprise." The boy said as he walked out of the theater with the redhead beside him "What did you think, Kotone?"

"Calling me by my first name only, already?" She teased as she raised an eyebrow and smirk

"I do that with everyone." He said, completely dismissing whatever game she had in mind "Still doesn't answer my question."

She sighed "Looks like you're still a work in progress..." she muttered to herself before answering "And yeah, I thought the movie was fun, too."

Suddenly, she started laughing "I can't believe she actually threw the cat at the end there."

"I can't believe the dad was that bad at making... well, anything." Makoto said as he shook his head "More surprised that the girl refused, though."

She suddenly looked at him confused "Would you want to have buttons sewed into your eyes?"

"To live in my ideal world?" He asked as he thought to himself "I..." A world with them back... and the world with _her_ back... A world in which he never... never... "I don't know..." he said in a somewhat shaky voice

Suddenly, Kotone just seemed to just... zone out for a moment as she placed a hand on her head for a moment before shaking her head quickly "Sorry, got light-headed for a moment there."

The bluenette checked his watch "It'll be dark soon..." he pointed out. Iwatodai was a nice place during the day, but even without the Dark Hour, this pace wasn't the safest place to be at night. There were numerous punks that liked to band together and generally do whatever the hell they want.

"Hey, Makoto..." She called, drawing his attention back to her as she smiled warmly "I had a lot of fun today."

"Yeah..." He said as he looked off to the side "So uh... Can you keep what happened at the mall a secret now?"

"Your sudden outburst or the plushie thing?" She asked "I mean, not like I can blame you. Who doesn't love good ol' Jackie?"

"Right..." Looks like no matter what, she was always weird as hell. Then, another thought came to mind "One question: Was this really a date?"

"Hmm..." Kotone seemed to ponder this for a moment before turning around "Guess you'll have to figure it out yourself..." she said as she walked away while waving "Bye-bye!"

"Uh..." Makoto turned to who had been the 3rd wheel this entire day "What do you think, Pharos?"

The mysterious boy blinked "Can we get 'lucky' soon?"

"Pf." Makoto snickered and shook his head as he started to walk home "You little perv."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh God... right. Shipping. The funny thing is, I wasn't actually much of a shipper for these two, or anyone in general. Yet, for whatever reason, young me always decides to go overboard with the fluff. Meh, I guess it's cute in its own way.
> 
> Scratch what I said before, these notes are literally just going to be me reflecting on my past choices while occasionally adding trivia.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, actually something important for this chapter to make sense: The whole point was for Makoto and Kotone to have very conflicting world views. Makoto is the half-empty guy, while Kotone is half-full. 
> 
> Why do I say this and not let you come to a conclusion? I don't trust my younger self that well.

**_?_ **

_"Minato.."_

_Make it stop..._

_"Minato..!"_

_Make it stop... make it stop..._

_"Minato!"_

_I'm so... so sorry. Please make it stop..._

_"MINATO!"_

_I'm sorry, please make it stop._ _I'm sorry, please make it stop._ _I'm sorry, please make it stop. Makeitstopmakeitstop_ _makeitstop_ _makeitstop_ _makeitstop_ _makeitstop_

_..._

_..._

Makoto nearly jumped out of bed as his eyes shot open and glowing as a response to his distress. The boy was left panting, drenched in sweat from his nightmare.

Makoto rubbed the back of his neck while looking down "Again with this shit?" He cursed. He should've been over the nightmares by now, but they just kept sneaking up on him.

Why wouldn't they just go away? A decade has passed, there are no more tears left to be shed.

"Are you alright?" Makoto looked up and saw his old friend standing on the edge of his bed.

"It's nothing." Makoto dismissed as he leaned his back against the cold wall. He felt like he just walked through a hallway of microwaves and that his head had just been hit with a sledgehammer over and over again.

"Killer headache, though." He admitted as he massaged his temples and looked at the clock. It was 5:37 in the morning, which mean he had a few hours before school.

"You've been having a lot of nightmares lately," Pharos noted. While he has them every now and again, he never had this many nightmares within such a short time frame.

"It's nothing..." Makoto said as he climbed out of bed and changed out of his sweat-soaked nightclothes and into something more comfortable.

"Do you... regret coming back?" Pharos asked with a weak voice. He may have wanted him to come back here, but he didn't want Makoto to suffer because of it.

"I'm fine." Makoto insisted as he put on his undershirt and look towards the boy "They're just nightmares, that's it."

Pharos looked down "I hope you're right." he muttered, though Makoto could still hear him clearly.

"I am." He said confidently as he looked him straight in the eye "And here... Here's where out search will come to its end.." he said as he put on his school uniform

 _"All they'll all pay for what they did..."_ Makoto thought to himself as he pulled up a chair next to a window. He didn't want to slash his arm again, but he thought it'd be better to prepare for later tonight.

 _"Not tonight... "_ The voice whispered in his head " _Don't do it again..."_

Makoto shook his head _Shut it._ he thought as he cooked some ramen for breakfast. He didn't know where this voice was coming from or what it was, but he didn't care.

He sat in his chair and looked out the window and simply waited as he ate his ramen as he waited.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

More and more waiting. How much of his life had been spent simply looking out the window and waiting? How much of his life had been dedicated to his single purpose? How long could he go on like this?

What would he even do when he'd achieved his goal? Academically, he was a model student, but did it really matter?

Funny, they claim that you'll be able to choose eventually, but do nothing to help you discover your calling. All they care about is fulfilling their quota and then pushing kids out, thinking they already know about the cruelties the real world had... But they knew nothing.

And the world cared little for any of them, not a single one of them and it never would.

You could die, and the world would simply continue.

You could be looking forward to parenthood only to have the child be stillborn, and the world would continue.

You could be a homicidal maniac who though killing people would save them, and the world would continue.

You could watch your entire family die... and the world would continue.

Innocence... The thing that blinds you to the world's cruelties. It's the thing that all are born with, though how long that last is really up to them in the end.

From that innocence, hope is born. Kids are often optimistic and have hope that things will get better because of their naivety and lack of knowledge of the world's true cruelty. As they learn, they lose that innocence and hope... but it never truly left them.

Then, there were people like Makoto.

From all that pain, from all the suffering, from seeing the world for what it truly is, hope is reborn as despair.

Still, there was a form of comfort even something such as despair could bring. It was almost like a contest to see who's life was the most fucked up and to see who truly warranted the despair they claim to have.

From discovering that someone's life is worse than yours, perhaps you could revitalize 'hope' and leave your life of despair behind or perhaps it'd be a source of comfort to know that you're not the only one who sees this twisted world for what it truly was.

Then, there were people like Makoto.

There was no helping them... they were beyond the point of revitalization and returning to who they once were. Truly, there was no one who would even come close to what he suffered that day 10 years ago.

Some may say they know... but they don't. They never will, because they only know what he wants them to know.

Ah, yes... another fun game. How much truth is being withheld? How much of it is actually the truth to begin with? Humans are a species of liars and cheaters; Some just want attention, others want to be pampered, others are crying for help but don't want everyone to know the details out of shame.

Makoto reached for a certain spot under his chair that was just large enough to hide his old knife. He didn't even remember where he got it from, but such minor details are far beyond relevance.

Holding by the blade, he wrapped his entire hand around it and squeezed tightly to the point that small amounts of blood dripped as penance for another nightmare. They weren't his nightmares, they were the nightmares of a dead man.

From that dead man, despair was born. Nothing, but pure despair and knowledge of just how cruel and unfair this world truly was. His goal was not to try and achieve equilibrium, but to simply find another form of comfort that would hopefully be permanent... or at the very least, the nightmares might finally end.

There was no hope that could save anyone... There was no hope for the boy who once prayed day and night that what happened was all a nightmare until he cried himself to sleep.

All that was left was nothing but pure despair.

* * *

_**Dorm** _

"Nrgh..." Kotone groaned as she lazily opened her left eye. She glanced at the clock that read 6:02 in the morning.

 _Guess there's no point going back to sleep..._ She thought as she climbed out of bed since school was in an hour or so. The girl rubbed her eyes before grabbing some clothes, she still had enough time for a shower.

Kotone sighed in relief when she felt the hot water hit her skin. Not only were hot showers one of the most comforting things on the planet for her, but it also served as a nice time for her to think to herself.

In the past month, so many things had happened. She'd joined SEES to combat shadows, became a guest of the 'Velvet Room', ventured into a giant tower, nearly died on the train, and summons personas to combat shadows by shooting herself in the head.

Speaking of which, on the orders of a long-nosed man named Igor, she could only strengthen her personas by forming 'social links' or bonds with others.

Honestly, the idea of social links didn't bother her all that much. To her, it was a way to help people with their problems by being a friend. She just so happened to get stronger because of it, a power that she could use to defeat shadows and help/save even more people.

Of course, some of her links were easier than others. There were people like Junpei who were easy enough since he was by nature a friendly guy.

Then, there were people like Makoto...

Honestly, she didn't know if she'd ever seen someone this devoid of hope or... anything. Most of the time, he just looked like he was dead inside and alive only because his heart was still beating.

If there was anyone who needed help from someone, it'd probably be him. But, no one ever even tried. Granted, even she felt the cold aura he gave off and even she felt like there was something very twisted and wrong around them whenever she was with him, but that wasn't enough to stop her.

She hadn't had the worst life in the world, not by a long shot. But, she knew that just having someone else in your life could make all the difference. She was lucky enough to still have a father to confide in, but not everyone was that lucky.

She'd seen many people in her life; Those that were full of joy and bubbly, those that were serious, those that were happy... and then there were the hopeless ones that fell into despair.

Despair... even the word itself was depressing. A life full of pain, misery, and devoid of joy, or any semblance of hope. Living in such a state would be unfathomable for her if she hadn't seen others like this.

And when people fall into that dark pit, they often question things like their reason for living/existing in the first place. And more often than not, they didn't question it for long...

And that was why she almost felt like it was an unspoken duty for her to do what she could to help him. If just having a single person in his life could bring even a sliver of hope back into the poor bluenette, then it was worth the effort.

Even her teammates thought she was wasting her time. They called him dangerous, rude, cold, among other things. Still, she wasn't just going to just sit back and do nothing as her classmate continued to go through hell.

There wasn't anything to find down the dark road he was going. She had found that the hopeless often seek comfort, but often find false-comfort just so they don't fall apart. There was nothing that could be achieved with a philosophy such as his, it'd only bring more and more pain until he eventually hit his limit.

But even in someone like him, he wasn't as empty as he claimed to be. If he was, he'd had pushed her away when he was offered a chance to leave.

He was something, but he wasn't hopeless.

* * *

**_School_ **

Mitsuru sighed as she looked out the window in the student council room. It was almost hard to believe that a place like this became Tartarus at night, but there was no changing that.

Even though it had been a few days since she was still exhausted from providing support during the last operation, but that was the least of her worries.

That hooded boy had shown up again, and again he seemed focused on killing the shadow without saying a single word. Who was he? What were his motives? And why was he so powerful? She'd been a persona user for years and she didn't even compare to him.

Then, there was another issue...

"Hello, senpai..."

Mitsuru nearly shook in surprise as she looked behind her and saw the last person she wanted to see with a condescending smirk on his face.

"Yuki..." Mitsuru returned the greeting as she regained her composure "What is it that you want?"

"Why, senpai, I'm merely a concerned junior." He answered coyly as he used on of the desk as a chair "I mean, you look exhausted. How're you going to prepare for exams?"

"It's nothing." Mitsuru dismissed as she kept her eyes on the boy "I ask again, what do you want?"

"A different question would be nice." Makoto answered sarcastically "Actually, everyone in your dorm in particular looks tired..." he pointed out which made Mitsuru looked worried for just a split second "Any reason for that?"

"It's none of your business." She dismissed the question again as she glared at him with cold eyes. If last time taught her anything, it was that any answer was very dangerous. Trying to change the subject was the best she could do.

"My, aren't you contemptuous?" Makoto asked as he giggled like a child causing mischief "If I didn't know any better... I'd say you're hiding something."

Even though she did her best not to show it, her blood ran cold when he said that. Not only might he be onto SEES, but he also seemed to just be toying with them. She'd known from the beginning that their activities might attract the eyes of others, but she never expected that someone like this would come along.

Makoto chuckled "But that applies to everyone, right?" he said as he got off the desk "Good luck during the exams.." he said before walking to the door.

The boy stopped suddenly and looked back with a smirk "Oh, and good choice in underwear. Black suits you."

Mitsuru's face instantly went as red as her crimson hair as Makoto walked out saying "Bye-bye."

...

...

"Please help me study!" Kotone begged as she blocked Makoto's way out of the classroom when the day was over.

"Um... why would I do that?" Makoto asked as he raised an eyebrow "Don't you share a dorm with the Mitsuru? Just ask her."

"She's always to busy to help..." Kotone explained as she sighed as the disheartening memories returned before she brightened back up "But, you're smart, right? I mean, you always get the questions the teachers ask right."

"Again, why would I do that?" Makoto asked, not seeing much of a reason to do so

 _Just do it.._ The voice in his head whispered

Kotone stood there for a moment as she blinked, realizing that he actually had a point. She shrugged with a desperate look on her face "... Because I'm pretty?" she answered, not having any actual good reason.

 _No.._ Makoto thought, there wasn't much reason to waste his time on this.

"Fine..." The boy found himself obeying the voice in his head again. Whatever it was, it had more control over him then he'd like to admit.

"Yay!" She cheered before grabbing him the hand and dragging him "My dormmates aren't the biggest fan of you, so we'll have to do it at your place, 'kay?"

Makoto closed his eyes and sighed, questioning why he even agreed to this. This was going to be a very long week...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That Makoto-Mitsuru scene... Pft, screw it, I still chuckle.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actual Trivia: When writing this chapter, it (somehow) got deleted multiple times. Don't ask how or why; it just did. I think it becomes clear when I stopped caring and just wanted to get this little bastard out.

**_Home_ **

The two juniors sat on the bluenette's sofa as the two shared notes. Well, more accurately, Kotone had her notes out and Makoto was telling her the right and wrong answers.

"How fast does the Earth rotate on its Axis?" Kotone asked as she looked at her notebook "It was faster than the speed of sound so... 1,700 Kilometers per hour, right?"

"Yes." Makoto answered, not even looking at her when he talked "You could probably just say it's faster than the speed of sound and they'll take it."

"Mm-hmm..." She hummed as she wrote a side note so that she could remember that for later "Numbers were invented... 6,000 years ago, right?"

"Yes." He answered, resorting to single words as opposed to sentences "And Soft water is water that contains low-"

"Low concentration of calcium carbonate and other ions..," She said confidently, not even needing to look at her paper anymore "...while Hard water is the opposite."

"What're you doing here?" He asked as he looked out the window like usual

"Huh?" Kotone tilted her head confused "Um... To study."

"You already know everything." Makoto replied, still not looking at her and his voice still keeping the low monotone that she had grown accustomed to now "All I'm here for is to tell you 'yes' or 'no' really."

He looked back at her with his cold, almost dead eyes "So, why are you really here?"

Kotone sighed as she put everything down "I wanted to spend time with you.." she answered bluntly before looking back at him "There, I said it. Happy?"

"Why?" Makoto asked as he raised an eyebrow "I don't get you... Everyone else just avoids me."

The redhead just shrugged "I'm not everyone else." she replied before smirking "Although, I would like to meet this 'everyone else' guy so I could talk some sense into him."

The boy couldn't help but snicker at the joke before quickly going back to his usual self. This was a scenario that had never been forced onto him before, usually, everyone just stayed away, but she just wouldn't back down.

"Plus, I don't think you like being alone." She said which caught the boy's attention.

"What?" Makoto asked confused, she had just said the exact opposite of what was true

Kotone scooted a little closer "You don't like people getting close to you, but that doesn't mean you like being alone either." she continued, never breaking eye contact as she spoke

"You don't know me," Makoto said matter-of-factly as he continued to look into the girl's eyes

"Not as much as I want to." Kotone admitted, "But you haven't forced me out the door now nor any other times, so there must at least be _some_ truth to what I said."

"..." Makoto didn't want to answer that. It was true that he didn't like being completely alone, but he was never alone as long as he had Pharos, but no one could know about him.

His original reason for even forming this 'relationship' with her was simply so that he'd have a connection to SEES and a way to learn what they're up should his status as a persona user be discovered, but he was quickly seeing that it wasn't going to work out in his favor at this rate.

"So what?" he asked, not used to being backed into a corner.

"So, I don't want you to be alone. That simple." She answered as direct as she could, Makoto was a fairly blunt person so blunt answers might work "Besides, you _did_ agree to me being able to hang out with you whenever I want."

Makoto just remained silent as he looked at the girl next to him. She may have been weird, but she was damn good when it came to figuring him out. She was kind, helpful, and pure-hearted... The opposite of him.

He was cold to everyone and everything, he couldn't care less about what happened to others nor this world, and his heart had become twisted long ago.

 _"She's too dangerous to keep around..."_ Makoto thought to himself as he considered what to do

 _"She's right... Whether I like it or not, she's right..."_ The voice spoke again, referring to itself as if it were already Makoto " _... And whether I want to admit it or not, I also like being around her."_

The boy grunted softly as he looked down at his hands "You're a real headache machine, you know that?"

The redhead giggled "That's what my father always says."

"You're wasting your time though." He said, going back to his matter-of-factly demeanor "You won't find anything here."

"Then it's _my_ time to waste..." she said as she scooted even closer so that their arms were touching each other "... And I don't think you're as much of a lost cause as you think you are."

Makoto paused for a moment before saying "You're one strange girl."

"Touche... minus the girl part for you." Kotone returned "So, whaddya wanna do now?"

"No idea." He answered instantly, it wasn't like he actually planned for her to come here ahead of time "Isn't that your thing?"

"Hmm..." She hummed to herself in thought as an idea formed into her head "... Truth or dare?"

"You're just going to make it truth and truth, aren't you?" The asked with a sigh, she certainly was dedicated. No wonder she was chosen as SEES field leader.

"When's your birthday?" She asked, starting their little game

"September 25, you?" He asked back

"November 12th." She answered before asking "Why are you so anti-social?"

"I don't see the point in superficial relations, especially because of how quickly they tend to end." He answered before narrowing his eyes "Why are you so fixated on me?"

"Because I know a sad person when I see one." Kotone answered, her voice having a hint of concern mixed in with her usual warm tone "Why are you so sad?"

"I'm not sad." He retorted with a frown, she was starting to go to an unwelcomed territory

"You're avoiding the question, I get an extra go." Kotone declared, the boy was about to object but then she said "My game, my rules. Now answer the previous one."

"I never agreed to it." He countered that was one question that he didn't want to answer

"Fine, we'll skip this one. But I'm still keeping my bonus question." She said, giving into the boy's unspoken demands as she partly shifted to her leader-voice "Do you want me to leave?"

 _Yes..._ Makoto thought without a moment of hesitation

 _No..._ The voice spoke, saying the opposite of what Makoto wanted as usual

"I don't know." The boy answered, unable to decide between the 2 thoughts.

"Do you want me to stop spending time with you?" She asked another question relating to herself

Again, the thoughts of Makoto and the voice spoke and gave opposite answers. Makoto wanted to push her away, but the voice wanted her to stay...

"I don't know." The bluenette said, still unable to give a definite answer "My turn, why are you always happy?"

"Life's short." She spoke the one thing every living creature knows, one way or another "No point in spending it miserably. Would you say you're happy?"

"No." Makoto didn't even need to think about that one. He wasn't happy, he wasn't sad... he was just there "What's your angle?"

"Um.." Kotone tilted her head again and blinked "Gonna need you to elaborate there."

"No one's this nice, especially to me." He said as he remembered the few times people would talk to him as long as they got something out of it, such as fame for talking to the 'hot/creepy kid', a reward for a dare, or they'd just try to get a date or something. "What's your angle? Popularity? A dare? Or are you just another fangirl trying to get a date out of me?"

Kotone just shook her head slowly "Nope, none of those things..." she technically spoke the truth since he didn't mention social links "I'm just doing this because I want to."

The girl looked in straight in the eye again and seemed hesitant for a moment as if she was having second thoughts about her question before blurting out "Are you sad because of what happened to your parents?"

The instantly pressed on of the few buttons Makoto had. The boy stood up from his seat and glared at the girl "How about you have both your parents die, then we'll see just how goddamn happy you'd be."

Kotone looked down as she regretted asking that, she should've known that'd be a touchy subject "I"m sorry, I shouldn't of-"

"Sorry?" He repeated as he slowly and tightly clenched his fist "You're mommy and daddy are still alive, you don't get to be _sorry_!" he yelled, his voice shifting from his usual low monotone to a loud venomous voice that almost sounded like a completely different person.

At this moment, the voice in his head was silent. No, that's not quite it. Neither Makoto's thoughts nor the voice could be heard because they were drowned out by the boy's boiling anger.

"Do you know what it's like?" He asked as he kept glaring at her, and Kotone must've been seeing things because she could've sworn his eyes flared for a moment "To pray for your parents to come back, but instead you just get nightmares of them dying over and over?!"

"Makoto, I-"

"Oh, maybe I should get started on the rumors that's always fun." He said as he let out an empty laugh "How about that one time where they tried say *I* murdered my parents but was never caught? That's my personal favorite!"

"What do you want me to say?!" She screamed as she finally stood up and returned his glare. She understood that he had every right to be pissed off, but she wasn't going to just let him talk to her like that either "I said that I was sorry."

"I don't want you to _say_ anything." He said slowly as he lowered his voice, but still, keep the same venomous tone "I want you to get the hell out."

Kotone was about to say something back, but even in her indignant state she knew that she'd only make the problem worse. She sighed "You know what, fine." she agreed as she gathered her things before going to the door

"I don't care if it means anything to you, but I _am_ sorry and I know I shouldn't have asked that." Kotone said with her back turned to the boy, fully willing to admit her mistake before digging her nails into her palm "But that doesn't give you the right to be an ass."

Makoto continued to glare daggers into her back "Leave me alone."

"Fine..." She agreed as she opened the door "Wish granted." and with that, she was gone

No longer needing to restrain himself, Makoto let his eyes glow a dim blue in response to his irate state. His blood was boiling... he needed something to take all this anger out on here and now.

Makoto made his way to his bathroom sink with his knife in hand.

The bluenette rolled up his left sleeve and repeatedly started to stab his arm over and over while biting into the collar of his shirt to muffle any screams he had to not draw attention from the neighbors.

Over and over he stabbed and slashed his limb as blood got all over the place from his wild cuts. The rate of his cuts made it so that Pharos had to keep healing him, but that only made Makoto tear himself apart more and more, and no matter how much blood he spilt, his entire body still felt like it was on fire.

He didn't even know how long he had been at it, his only indication to stop was when he felt the Dark Hour take hold.

As soon as he realized that the Dark Hour was in effect, he put his knife away and grabbed his usual disguise that he worse whenever he went out now.

"Are you sure you want to leave?" Pharos asked concerned as the boy made his way out of the building

"I need to let off some steam." Makoto responded simply to the boy who had no choice but to accept what his friend was about to do.

* * *

Makoto sat in the middle of the floor in Tartarus and simply waited. There was just one shadow in particular that he was waiting for, and he had a feeling the wait wouldn't be long.

Even after all these hours had passed, his blood was still boiling as the memory of 10 years ago played over and over and over again, nonstop. The anger was still present and the memory still on replay blocked out any of his thoughts or anything the voice had to say.

After a few moments, the sounds of rattling chains could be heard echoing through the dark halls of Tartarus.

"So you've come..." The Reaper said, it's voice also echoing as it made it's way closer "... Of your own volition, and knowing full well that I await you."

"We have a score to settle." Makoto replied as a sword materialized in his right hand "And I'm going to rip the eye of yours out of it's socket."

The sound of what could only be described as laughing could be heard "Do you really think it's that easy? Even _if_ you manage to kill me, I will simply reform myself once again."

"Good..." Makoto responded as a sinister smirk formed beneath his scarf "That means I'll be able to kill you again to my heart's content. Now, what do you say we-"

"Are you sure your doin' alright, Ko-tan?" Could be heard at the other end of the block , and it sounded a lot like Junpei...

"I told you, I'm fine. Now drop it." And that was no-doubt Kotone

"Son of a-" Makoto bit his lip. Of all the days they could've come to Tartarus, they had to come _now_ _?!_

"Heh, how amusing..." The Reaper said as he finally reached the boy "Wouldn't you say... Arisato?"

That instantly rekindled Makoto's fury 10x's what he had felt when he briefly yelled at Kotone... This thing wasn't going to leave this block alive.

Makoto's dimly glowing eyes shine slightly brighter as Thanatos appeared behind him with his blade unsheathed, ready for round two.

The Reaper seemed amused by this action "Heh, well I see you've made your decision to stand and fight this time" It said as it readied it's revolvers "Come, you'll get to see your family again."

Without saying a word, Makoto sent Thanatos at the ghostly entity as their battle began.

...

...

"Look, I'm just-" Junpei was cut off when Kotone turned around and glared at him

"I said I'm fine, now drop it or I'll cut your goddamn balls off and offer them to the next shadow!" She threatened, still angry over her spat with Makoto from earlier. She'd come here to progress through the tower and use her anger for something productive, but Junpei's constant probing was getting annoying.

"Hey, I'm only worried is all!" Junpei said as he threw up his hands in surrender

"Hey, do you guys hear that..?" Yukari asked as she looked ahead of both of them. Lately, Mitsuru's ability to scan had been roughly hit or miss, and it was currently a miss. Meaning, they had to go through almost the entirety of the block blind.

Suddenly, they were met a familiar hooded boy flying through the air before rolling on the ground with loud crackling sounds being heard as his bone snapped, shattered, or dislocated.

Before the team could even process what had just happened, even more crackling sounds could be heard as the boy stood up while all the bones moved back into place and fused back together, and all the bullet holes closed and the damaged flesh repaired itself in moments. His fighting style was admittedly reckless and relied little on defence due to Pharos' rapid healing abilities.

The entirety of SEES just looked at the boy in awe "That... That just ain't right." the capped boy commented before everyone took notice of the sound of rattling chains approaching.

The team looked and saw the Reaper floating above them.

"Heh, I'll deal with you later." The shadow said before firing a single shot into the air and an invisible force pushed all of SEES away until they impacted a wall.

The Reaper returned to glaring at the boy with its one eye "Now, where were we?"

Makoto kept his silence, his voice is too risky to use in the presence of SEES.

Thanatos reappeared and charged at the shadow, but the being's ghostly body made most attacks seem harmless. The only solid parts of the shadow were it's hands and it's head, and those parts were also it's most guarded.

While Thanatos distracted The Reaper, Makoto sneaked behind it and Garu amplified his jump, ready to plunge his blade straight into the back of the damn thing's head.

But The Reaper saw this coming and used its chains to hit the boy in mid-air which caused the boy's back to hit the ground again.

Not giving the boy a chance to recover, The Reaper immediately moved above the boy and fired off round after round into the boy's body until his torso was nothing more than a bloody, and mushy mess.

Not satisfied, The Reaper fired off another shot and fire suddenly appeared and incinerated everything that was left. When the flames had dissipated, nothing was left but ash.

"Hehe... And so the incarcerator falls." The Reaper said as he turned to SEES who were still recovering from the one attack from the shadow.

SEES fired their Evoker to have their personas ready for battle, but each of them went down in just a single shot.

The Reaper fired another shot into the air and an invisible force pushed them again until they hit another wall, it was clear that The Reaper only thought of them as playthings.

It was about to continue it's fun, however, The Reaper then noticed a black mist coming from all around the area and all the sources seemed to met behind the shadow.

The Reaper looked back and saw all the mist gathering until he saw it.

The mist dissipated revealing Makoto who was on his knees looking down, now donning a garb somewhat similar to Thanatos'. The only differences were that this was pure black, and sported a hood that only showed 2 glowing blue eyes while the rest of the boy's face was completely shrouded in darkness.

In fact, shroud of darkness would be the perfect way to describe new this new outfit, as the same dark and twisted energy that radiated from Thanatos could also be sensed around the boy now.

Makoto chuckled silently as he got back on his feet and brushed the dust and ash off his shoulders. He had achieved his goal of burning off his anger until he was calm again, and now it was time to stop playing with the shadow.

Concealed within the darkness of the shroud's hood, a sinister smile formed on the boy's face and Thanatos appeared behind the boy again.

The persona roared as he extended his chains to seemingly infinite lengths until he had easily restrained The Reaper.

 _"Descend into the abyss..."_ Makoto thought as a mass of dark energy formed around him. Then, just like Arcana Priestess, the energy took the form of spikes and began to tear The Reaper apart as dark red blood began to spray everywhere, almost as if The Reaper was nothing more than a bloody fountain.

Eventually, The Reaper was the one who had fallen onto it's back from the massive damage the boy had just inflicted in mere seconds.

Makoto jumped onto The Reaper's chest and stared into its single blood-shot eye.

"W-What're you waiting for...?" The Reaper asked, still keeping it's condescending tone as usual "Go ahead, kill Mi-"

Before it could finish that sentence, Makoto grabbed the shadow's eye with his bare hand and made good on his promise by ripping the eye out of it's socket before using his sword to slash at the shadow's head over and over again.

More and more he just kept slashing until he had resorting to literally tearing The Reaper's head apart with his bare hands, causing the creature's blood to splatter all over him and the entire area around him.

Finally, the boy shoves his hand into the Reaper's head that had become an almost complete mush before grabbing the first solid thing he felt and yanking it out, causing the shadow to die instantly.

Makoto looked to see what he had pulled out, a literal bloody button.

The bluenette let out a "Hmph..." as he put the button in his pocket and began to walk off

"Hey!" SEES called out to him, but he never stopped. What happened was beyond his concern at this point, especially after earlier.

He didn't even acknowledge Mitsuru nor Akihiko when he made it to the tower's entrance and simply walked out as if nothing had ever happened.

As to avoid being tailed, Makoto took a much more complicated route home both during and after the Dark Hour. When he finally reached his apartment, he simply went to bed without saying a word.

Friends... Who needs them? Outside of Pharos, no one cared about him. They were all just byproducts of a cruel world that seemed to be testing how else can he be tortured. As far as he was concerned, this world and everyone in it could all burn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, right, Makoto was God-tier back then. Ah, memories...


	10. Chapter 10

**_Home_ **

"Hmm... Interesting."

Makoto opened one eye when he heard someone else's voice in his room. He sat upon his bed and saw Pharos... with his phone.

"Pharos..." Makoto called before he rubbed his eyes "W-What're you doing?" was the only thing he could say

"I took some pictures at school today while you were asleep in class.." Pharos answered, either not noticing or not caring about Makoto's shock

"H-How... Since when could you hold things?" Makoto asked, last he checked, Pharos was an ethereal being unable to perform any real interactions with any objects.

"I dunno." Pharos answered, his eyes still glued on Makoto's phone "I just could recently."

"And what're you looking at..?" Makoto asked as he moved closer to see what photos Pharos had taken with _his_ phone.

The moment he saw what was saved on his phone, he nearly jumped out of his skin in shock at what he was looking at. On his phone were many, many, many pictures of girls... in the changing rooms.

"Oh, my-" Makoto rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing. Not only could Pharos interact with objects, not only could those objects (apparently) teleport with him, but he used that power to take numerous pictures of the school's girls as they changed.

"I don't see what the issue is..." Pharos said as he continued to go through the pictures "Don't boys your age normally like these things?"

"W-Well..." Makoto struggled to find the words as he found himself looking at the photos with his very strange friend.

Pharos just kept going through them, seemingly unfazed by Makoto's shocked face "A lot of the girls look very nice..." he said as he finally started to reach the end.

"Um..." Makoto just blinked, unable to think coherently. He could tear shadows apart, he could walk through the 25th hour casually, but he just couldn't comprehend that his friend was not partly ephemeral _and_ used _his_ phone to take pictures of the girls in their underwear.

And then, they reached the picture of the one that Makoto recently had a falling out with.

The redhead had flawless pale skin, her trips to Tartarus and club activities had done wonders for toning her body, and she had a decent-sized bust— Actually, her body's curves, in general, were very attractive...

... This was what Pharos saw.

Makoto's eyes flared for a moment as he painfully bit into his lip so hard that it started to continuously gush blood.

Pharos closed the phone as he noticed and promptly healed Makoto's injury, though the boy continued to dig his nails into his arms.

She dared... she thought she had the right to ask. She thought she had the right to remind him of the day he watched his family die...

"Are you alright, Minato?" Pharos asked concerned, there weren't many things that could make him _this_ angry this fast.

Makoto took a deep breath and exhaled, not even his anger could make him lash out at his most cherished friend "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Pharos asked, not entirely convinced. First, he'd been having more nightmares than usual, then he starts hearing things, and now this.

"As fine as I get," Makoto answered as he sighed, he didn't like it when Pharos worried about him. "I'm going back to sleep..." he said as he fell back into his bed "You know what to do, right?"

Pharos nodded "Sweet dreams." he wished his friend, and within just a few moments the bluenette was snoring softly.

Pharos sighed as he looked at his sleeping friend. At times, he wondered if he was truly enough for him. Makoto was dedicated to him and would do anything for him, but was that right? He only wanted him to be happy, but was he the reason he wasn't?

After all, what happened 10 years ago was all because of...

The little boy looked down again with a very downcast expression. If he was being honest, him driving Kotone away saddened him a little. He actually quite liked her from what he had seen of her, for she was the first person to insist on trying to befriend him.

Of course, that couldn't happen. It couldn't happen because of what had happened 10 years ago and Makoto truly believes that he only needs him and no one else. Granted, he _could_ simply ask him to forgive her and apologize, but would that be right? Would it be right to just abuse the trust the 2 of them have, even if he thinks it'd help him in the end?

No, he couldn't do that... he wouldn't. He wasn't NOT going to use his friend, regardless of what he wants.

* * *

**_One Week Later ; School_ **

Makoto had his head down as soon as he finished his exams. To the rest of the class, he appeared to just be another sleeping student. Kotone had settled on just giving him the silent treatment and generally avoiding interaction at all costs just like he wanted.

Of course, him appearing to be asleep made it so that the rest of SEES dropped their guard.

"So, what'd you get?" That sounded like Yukari's voice

"I aced P.E!" Only someone as sad as Junpei would think that's something to gloat about

The 3 of them discussed more pointless nonsense until Junpei mentioned something about Akihiko wanting a student list for one of the classes.

_What would he want that for...?_ Makoto wondered as he continued to feign sleep.

As soon as Junpei mentioned that, both Kotone and Yukari decided to travel with him to the hospital where Akihiko was getting a check-up, finally recovered from the injuries he sustained from fighting the Magician months ago.

If he wanted a list of students... Does that mean he suspects that 1 on them is a persona user? That's the only reason SEES would have to be interested in another student. Luckily enough, it was for a class next door; They didn't know about him yet.

Still, it was nothing of interest to him. New persona user or not, it didn't really change anything for him.

...

...

It'd been a few days, and now things were getting strange. Now, some of the girls at the school had suddenly appeared in front of the school with symptoms akin to Apathy Syndrome.

Even Makoto was confused. They didn't have any after-school activities, so they had no reason to be there for a shadow to attack them. Not only that, they despised school and there was no vandalism or _anything,_ they were just... there.

Of course, students were also idiots. Now, there were rumors upon rumors that some 'ghost' decided to attack them or something along those lines. Even weirder, the junior members of SEES were asking questions about the rumors too.

It made sense, really. If there was shadow involvement, then SEES was almost guaranteed to stick their noses in it somehow. Of course, that left Makoto.

The bluenette stood on the roof that was more or less barren compared to the rest of the school and turned to his ghostly friend

"Any idea what's going on?" He asked. Pharos was the expert, everything Makoto knew was because of him.

Pharos shook his head "Not at all." he answered honestly "Perhaps it's worth investigating as well?"

"So join the bandwagon?" Makoto as he chuckled, finding it amusing how his and SEES' paths were crossing again.

_I suppose there's no avoiding it..._ Makoto thought "Alright, little guy. Let's solve a mystery." he agreed which made Pharos somewhat excited. Mysteries were like secrets, and the little boy liked secrets.

He already knew more than what he wanted thanks to him eavesdropping on his schoolmates, but maybe there was more to it than that? Kotone and the others had almost an entire week's lead on him, so the best idea he could think of is to see how their search is going.

Makoto stopped by his classroom and saw Junpei... being Junpei. Figures that he'd prefer to be lazy as opposed to actually doing something.

Yukari seemed to be thinking to herself, for some reason she was taking this mystery very seriously. Was there something that he was missing?

The boy dismissed the 2 of them, deciding to just leave them alone since 1 wasn't going to be saying much and the other didn't know a damn thing.

If those 2 didn't know anything, then there was 1 person left who was looking into this rumor...

...

"What do... I know?" The student asked again, surprised by the question

"Mm-hmm." Kotone answered as she nodded "Know anything at all about them?"

"Not really..." The student answered, still finding the line of questioning odd "... Aren't they the ones who people are saying were attacked by a ghost?"

Kotone sighed, he didn't know anything "Never mind, thanks for your time." she thanked before the student walked away still completely confused.

Makoto leaned against the wall with a small smirk forming "No luck, I take it?"

Kotone instantly frowned as she recognized the voice. Even after 2 weeks, she was still bitter over what happened. She apologized for her mistake, he's the one who's kept this going for as long as it has.

"What do you want?" Kotone asked, not even bothering to hide the bitterness in her voice

"My family back, but that's not going to happen now, is it?" Makoto replied as he felt his anger start to build again.

"Oh, ha-ha." Kotone said as she rolled her eyes "I apologize already. You're the one being an ass."

"Whatever." He couldn't let his emotions get the best of him, he had to keep control of himself "You're looking into the rumor, right?"

That caught Kotone's attention. Rude or not, he might've had vital information "You know something?"

Makoto shrugged "Maybe." he answered vaguely "Not like I know what you know."

Kotone sighed, she'd been warned by her teammates about his little games. At first, she thought that they were just exaggerating, but now she had more reason to trust them than him. Still, the only way of getting anything through him was to play by his rules.

"There were 3 friends from at our school who are now becoming one of the lost 1 by 1." Kotone explained what she knew "And... Yeah, that's about it."

Makoto blinked "An entire week, and that's it?"

Kotone suddenly glared "Well, _excuse_ me. I'd like to see what _you_ have to say then."

From what he had heard, the 3 girls liked to hang out. But, there was 1 thing that he had heard that Kotone apparently hadn't.

"Hmm..." Makoto hummed in thought. He had heard at one point that the girls _might_ have liked to visit a spot behind Port Island station, but he also knew that the place was also a popular spot for punks to meet up.

Of course, he wasn't in any real danger because of Pharos but SEES... Not so much. And, unfortunately for Makoto, they were also the closest thing he had to a link to the Kirijo group and finding out the details of what happened 10 years ago.

Makoto turned around "I'll get back to you on that." he said as he walked away. Less she knew, then the less of a chance of her ending up there and making his life harder.

He heard Kotone yelling from behind, but he blocked it out as he put his earphones on and just kept walking away. He didn't precisely know _when_ the girls liked to visit the place.

If SEES was a no-go, maybe Strega knew something?

No, they were nothing more than mercenaries. They were only interested in doing things and getting paid, something like this would be trivial to them. On top of that, how would he even find them?

The echo from the gunshots during the Dark Hour would make it impossible to pinpoint where they came from, not to mention there was no way of telling _when_ they were going to kill anyone.

"Damn," Makoto muttered in annoyance and slight frustration. There wasn't a lot to go on.

If he was going to go to the girls' former hang out spot, then he was going to have to go at during the night.

"What're we doing?" Pharos asked, he may have had many abilities but he wasn't a mind reader

"Tomorrow, we're going to take a little field trip," Makoto answered which seemed to excite the little boy more. Apparently he liked girls, secrets, and field trips.

* * *

**_Next day_ **

Makoto quietly walked to his destination under the moonlight. He'd almost forgotten how quiet the city is at night just before the punks came out and the Dark Hour settled.

But there was no time to think about that. He had to deal with this before midnight.

Makoto was just about there when he heard "Junpei!"

The boy sighed "Goddammit." It looks like SEES caught on faster than he thought. And now, it looks like they were in trouble.

He peaked his head out the corner and saw Junpei on the ground, presumably after getting punched straight in the gut.

_Well, they got themselves into this..._ Makoto thought as he continued to watch, not really caring about what happens to them. Saving them from their stupidity wasn't his job.

_Help them..._ The voice whispered

Makoto shook his head and frowned. The voice had been quiet the last few weeks, but now it decided to show itself again.

_"Fuck-Off,"_ Makoto demanded. He didn't care who/what the voice was, it didn't belong with him.

_"Stop wasting time! "_ The voice yelled, _"They don't have long..."_

_To hell with them._ Makoto replied as he rolled his eyes _"To hell with that annoying brunette, the lazy man-child, and that bitch."_

_You know that's not what you think..._ The voice said matter of factly

The boy put his hand on his head as he felt his head start thumping rapidly. It felt as if time was going in slow motion as Makoto and the voice continued to argue, unable to reach a consensus.

...

...

"Any last words?" The punk that had hit Junpei just a moment ago asked as he took a step towards Kotone

Kotone looked around awkwardly. If these were her last words, then she might as well make them noteworthy "You know, that's really smart." she said, eyeing the jewelry on the punk's face "Chaining your ear to your face so you can't lose it! Genius!"

"What the-" The punk paused for a moment as what she said processed through his mind. Then, he felt his blood boiling as he raised his hand to hit hurt...

... But, the blow never connected.

Everyone looked in shock as they saw an unexpected boy grab the punk's arm mid-swing with one hand.

Before anyone had time to see who it was, the boy reached for the chain on the punk's face and yanked it as hard he could which caused it to tear off the punk's earlobe and part of his nose.

"M-Makoto...?" Kotone uttered in shock as he dangled the piece of jewelry

A small half-smile formed on his face as the punk continued to scream from the pain.

"You know, if you go to the hospital now, they might be able to save your nose... well, maybe half of it." The bluenette taunted as he tossed the chain to the bleeding boy

"Y-You little shit!" The punk screamed as the pain continued to overwhelm his senses

"Huh? What was that?" Minato asked as walked next to a wall and put a hand to his ear "Sorry, I can't hear you. Bad ear."

The punk started to run towards him "You son of a-"

Just before the punk could reach him, Minato stepped to the side which caused him to ram straight face-first into the brick wall.

"Forget what I said about the nose," Minato said as he looked the boy's bloodied face

"That's enough."

Everyone looked towards the source of the unfamiliar voice and saw a tall boy wearing a beanie and a maroon coat walking towards them.

"They didn't know what they were getting themselves into." The boy said, having an odd shifty look in his eyes "I'll make sure they leave."

One of the punks from the side spoke up "Leave? After what he did?!"

Makoto chuckled "I think he meant _them._ " he said, eyeing his fellow juniors "As for me... Well, do you even want to try?"

The punk glared at the boy, but even he could recognize that trying anything on the bluenette would be a bad idea.

"You better watch yourself!" The punk warned as he and all of his friends ran off, leaving the coated boy, Makoto, and the juniors of SEES.

"Heh." Makoto silently chuckled to himself more. They one punk had forgotten his chain.

"You idiots!" The coated boy yelled at them "What in the hell are you doing here?!"

"Right back at ya, jackass." Makoto retorted as he shifted his glare to him, even he didn't like insults

Ignoring what Makoto said, Kotone walked up to the boy "Shinjiro, right?" she identified the boy "We're here-"

"To learn more about that ghost story?" Shinjiro concluded, finding that the only reason anyone would come here

"Everyone knows the story." Makoto chimed in "3 girls liked to come here, right? What'd they have to say about anything."

Shinjiro grunted, he didn't seem to be taking much of a liking towards Makoto already "All they'd ever do is talk shit about what they did to some girl named Fuuka."

"Fuuka?!" Yukari exclaimed in surprised which caught Makoto's attention

_Quite the reaction..._ He noted. What made her so special that she warranted special attention by name alone? Was she the new candidate?

"You mean Fuuka Yamagishi from 2-E?" Junpei asked for clarification

"That's why people are saying that it was Fuuka's spirit that did it." Shinjiro continued

"Wait, spirit?" Kotone took note of that.

"You don't know?" Shinjiro seemed surprised "She hasn't been home in over a week. How do you not know this?"

"School covered it by saying she was sick," Makoto spoke up for everyone. Then, he realized that he was starting to overstep his bounds a bit; He still had to act like he didn't know about the Dark Hour or Tartarus

He looked at SEES "You're the ones with miss president at their dorm, you sort it out." he said, turning his back to everyone and walking away "As for me, mystery solved."

...

Makoto continued to walk home as he thought to himself.

The girls were all found by the school, meaning that they were drawn there somehow. For that, they must've had a strong feeling of guilt over whatever they did to Fuuka and the shadows must've taken them as easy prey.

If they did something to Fuuka at school, and now she was missing...

_Well, I'll be damned._ Makoto thought to himself as he put the pieces together. Fuuka wasn't just missing, she'd been trapped in Tartarus for over a week now. Now, her only hope was that SEES could figure that out in time.

"Hey! Wait up!" Makoto stopped in place as he watched his fellow junior run to him

"What do you want, Kotone?" He asked annoyed as the girl panted from the running. What did she want now? To probe him some more?

"I... just wanted..." Kotone tried to say, but still needed a moment to catch her breath "I just wanted to say, thanks for the help back there."

"I was going there anyway." Makoto said as he rolled his eyes and looked to the side "Nothing to thank me for."

"Were you now..?" She asked as she seemed to be looking him up and down "You kept that a secret so I wouldn't go."

"I can't imagine why." Makoto said as he narrowed his eyes suspiciously "What do you want."

The redhead sighed "You really are to-the-point, aren't you?" she muttered before shaking her head and standing up straight again

"Look, what happened the other day..." Kotone said while looking down, still feeling bad about her mistake. How he responded was wrong, but what else should she expect after he lost his parents at such a young age "I want to put that behind us."

"Huh?" The boy expected many things, this wasn't one of them

"I know I never should've brought it up, and you had every right to be angry..." She looked back at the boy "So, whaddya say?"

...

...

...

"Do you think it's that easy?"

"Huh?" Kotone blinked

Makoto glared at her again "Oh, you think I'll just forgive you reminding me of the worst day of my life?" he asked, barely able to control himself "Did you honestly think that a few nice words were going to fix that?!"

She shook her head "Not at all." She admitted "I just... I just hoped you'd give me a chance."

Makoto turned his back to her again "Go home. You're wasting your time here."

"You're right..." Kotone agreed, this time sounding somewhat saddened rather than angry like last time "... Sorry." with that, she ran off again

The boy shook his head as he put on his earphones "What does it take to get it through her thick skull?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha, pervy Pharos! Okay, that's definitely something I miss doing. Man, re-reading all of these is getting me nostalgic. 
> 
> And I had such a potty mouth back then. Okay, I still do, but damn, Makoto swears too much which is funny considering he was toned down from my first fic (which you will NEVER see here... ever). Eh, I guess it's better to be slow than to never do it at all.


	11. Chapter 11

**_School_ **

It'd now been 2 days after Makoto had figured out what had happened to Fuuka Yamagishi and where her current whereabouts were. He'd always wondered what would happen if one decided to stay in Tartarus even after the Dark Hour ended, apparently you just skip a day and remain in the tower.

Yesterday had been Sunday, so no one could do anything since this was a school-related matter. During that time spent waiting, Makoto did his usual cutting and waiting, completely undisturbed by anyone/anything.

Now, well, now maybe SEES would finally get their heads out of their asses and do something. Saving Fuuka wasn't his problem, so why should he concern himself with such matters?

At least, that's what Makoto thought at first.

"I think we should go into Tartarus tonight," Pharos said to his old friend as the 2 of them stood on the roof

"You... Want me to save that girl, Fuuka?" Makoto asked for clarification, he'd do if that's what Pharos wanted but he wanted to be sure he understood everything.

"There'll be another one of those shadows tonight." Pharos explained what he meant along with his reasoning "If those other girls were found here, perhaps the shadow will appear here as well."

"I see..." Makoto said as he leaned against the fence "And if Fuuka's there, she'll be the next target regardless if she's a persona user or not."

Pharos nodded "Precisely." he confirmed, "Though, how do we end up in the same area as her?"

"Well, let's figure out where she was..." Makoto said as he thought to himself.

If Fuuka was in Tartarus, that means she was here when the school transformed. If that was the case, then she was likely trapped in an area that she couldn't get out of.

The lockers here were incredibly small, so unless she was the size of a pair of shoes that were out.

It'd have to be somewhere with a lock that people wouldn't hear just by passing by...

"The gym," Makoto said with certainty, if those girls got their hands on the keys and pushed her in then it'd fit the bill perfectly

Pharos tilted his head, seemingly confused about something "How can we get in there during the night?"

"We don't." Makoto answered, "We just need to hide really well as to not be noticed by the staff when they lock the place up."

"But, what if SEES finds you before the Dark Hour?" He asked, thinking of all possible scenarios

Makoto shrugged it off, seemingly unconcerned about any potential consequences "Let 'em. Just because they know about me doesn't me they know about _you_ and me." he explained, "Besides, might learn a thing or 2 if they know what I am."

Pharos seemed to think to himself for a moment before nodding "I understand."

* * *

**_Hours later_ **

Makoto listened to his earphones as he simply sat and waited for the Dark Hour to come.

Hiding... It wasn't anything new to him. For the first few years since that day, he was forced to hide from shadows when they came.

Every night, he was forced to tremble in terror as he heard people scream in pain and fear as the shadows turned them into one of the Lost.

Every night, the memory of what happened replayed over and over again which forced him to cry himself to sleep. Over and over, he wished that this was all some bad dream that he could just wake up from. He wanted to wake up to being comforted by his parents, maybe even get teased once or twice by _her..._

But that was never going to happen; they all died long ago, leaving only him.

Suddenly, he heard voices from the other side

"C'mon, move it!" The voice seemed to be in a rush, though it was too muffled to make out whose voice it was

"Alright, alright, cool it!" Said another voice in response

"Quiet down." A third voice warned as the door to the gym opened.

Makoto kept hiding as he saw Kotone, Junpei, and Akihiko enter.

 _Well, I'll be damned._ Makoto thought in slight surprise, they actually figured it out around the same time he did. Though, if they're here, it'd probably be best _not_ to hide anymore.

Makoto stepped out of his hiding place as he looked at the small group, the other 2 must've decided to stay at the entrance for support

"How do you do?" Makoto greeted with a smirk which startled all of SEES causing them to briefly jump

"Makoto-kun?" Kotone rubbed her eyes and blinked rapidly, surprised that the boy was standing here at this time at night

"What the hell are you doing here?" Junpei asked, also surprised by the bluenette's appearance

Makoto looked at his watch, just a few seconds to go.

The boy waved casually at the 3 persona users "See ya on the other side."

"Wha-" Before any of them could ask anything, everything went black as the school transformed into Tartarus.

...

...

"Nrgh..." Makoto groaned as he woke up from the school's transformation. Judging by his surroundings, he was definitely deep inside Tartarus.

"It looks like the plan was a success." Pharos said as he appeared in front of the boy "She should be somewhere around here."

Makoto stood back up and thought to himself, with them seeing who he was, what persona should he use?

He couldn't use Thanatos, he didn't need them to know that he and the hooded boy were the same person. However, considering Kotone could change personas as he could, he needed something that would be exclusive to him.

In the end, he only had 1 persona left that could fit that bill.

Makoto sighed as he made his way through Tartarus _. "_ _Time to downgrade myself..."_ he thought

Suddenly he heard "Are you... human?"

"Hmm?" Makoto looked around, but there was no one anywhere around him.

"It looks like she has telepathy." Pharos noted, "Perhaps her persona is dedicated to scanning?"

"That so?" Makoto asked as he continued to walk through the various blocks of this tower, that would definitely explain how she'd survive in Tartarus this long. It looks like he'd have to be careful to have Pharos disguise his presence in the future if this girl survived and joined SEES.

Come to think of it, they were probably going to ask _him_ to join too. But, it wasn't like they could for him, could they?

Makoto's thoughts were cut off when he heard one of the many shadows from within the tower growl as it took notice of him.

It was then that he realized something.

If Fuuka had sensory abilities and if Mitsuru could sense what was happening here, they'd know that he killed one of them.

If he killed one of them, they'd know he summoned a persona _without_ one of those gun things... Just like the hooded boy did. He wanted to avoid anything that risked them connecting the dots, so if now that he was facing shadow...

Makoto sighed "Goddammit..." he muttered before taking off as fast as he could. He may not have exercised regularly, but he was more than fit enough that he could outrun something like a shadow.

Surprisingly, despite not having legs, the shadow put up a rather good chase.

"Go right," Pharos informed the boy, directing him towards the stairs. One of the stranger things about shadows was that they stayed in their blocks and never up the stairs, even The Reaper followed this rule once he appeared.

Once he reached the top of the stairs, he was able to walk at his leisure again.

This was going to get tedious very quickly.

At least, that's what he thought before he heard the sounds of rattling chains again.

The boy groaned "Son of a bitch..." looks like the shadow was telling the truth, he really was unkillable. And now, he was attacking the one night he can't fight back.

"There's another person here!" Pharos informed, hoping that he/she would get there in time to help in time

"I warned you that you couldn't _truly_ kill me..." The Reaper spoke as its voice echoed through the halls "... And I suspect that you aren't able to fight back currently, are you?"

"What the hell do you want from me?" Makoto asked. The shadow seemed to have a fixation of him, but why?

"You imprison something of importance." The Reaper answered as it progressively came closer and closer "Killing you will set it free."

"I see..." He didn't need to ask, he already knew what he was talking about "... And if he doesn't want to be set free?"

The Reaper seemed to let out what seemed to be a sigh "Your soul tainted him just as his essence has tainted you..."

Suddenly, Makoto felt the pain of electricity from a Ziodyne hit him. With the current persona that he equipped in preparation, the blow did enough damage to knock the bluenette off his feet from the persona's weakness being exploited

"... To put it in words that you'll understand: You're a disease, in need of removal and nothing more." The Reaper spoke as it towered over the boy.

The shadow aimed its revolvers at the boy, ready to kill the boy as many times as it took to keep him dead permanently.

Then, there was the sound of a gun going off followed by breaking glass "Pyro Jack!"

The Reaper's face was suddenly set ablaze which made the surprised shadow grunt in pain.

Next thing Makoto knew, Kotone was right next to him

"Come on! We need to hurry!" She warned. She was able to catch The Reaper by surprise, but that wasn't going to be the case one it recovered.

There wasn't a need to tell him twice.

Makoto got back on his feet and took off with the same girl that he had a falling out with as The Reaper chased them.

"This way!" Kotone yelled as they turned a corner. The strategy of using the stairs to avoid powerful shadows was a strategy that was popular with SEES as well.

The 2 sprinted for the stairs as The Reaper quickly caught up, its floating ghost-like body making it faster than the average shadow

"No!" The Reaper shouted as it fired off another shot, this one managing to strike Makoto's right shoulder

"Grgh..!" Makoto grunted he felt the pain of the bullet entering the back of his shoulder and out the front "... Motherfucker!" he cussed as the 2 made it to the stairs.

When the 2 made it to the top of the stairs, Kotone's instantly shifted to Makoto's injury.

"Let me see that." She ordered, still having her no-nonsense leader-voice

"It's nothing." Makoto shrugged it off, he'd already been incinerated into nothing so a gunshot was nothing to him.

"Drop the tough guy act." She chastised as she moved closer

"Not what I meant," Makoto said as he opened up his shirt and showed the bullet had completely healed already. If Fuuka was able to use telepathy, then he should be able to pass off his healing as one of his abilities.

"Whoa..." Kotone blinked rapidly as if she was shocked "H-How'd you do that?"

Makoto shrugged "Just kinda happens." he answered before looking around them "So... Don't suppose you can explain why a tower comes every night?"

"It's... a long story." She said as she looked around "At any rate, we're going to have to look for the rest of the guys. We won't get very far without 'em."

"If I had to guess, we're probably on if not around the same block as them. We did come in the same way at the same time." The boy theorized, not even needing Pharos to come to that conclusion.

"Hope your right." She mumbled as the 2 walked on, Kotone always keeping that gun thing by her side

Now that he thought about it, now was the perfect time to ask.

"Mind explaining the gun?" Makoto asked

"It's called an Evoker." She answered "It's used to summon this thing called 'persona'. That's another long story."

"Fine by me," he replied, happy that he at least had a name for the thing now.

And then, the two began to walk silently again. Makoto couldn't help but feel that the situation was somewhat awkward given their previous encounters.

Whenever a shadow came, Kotone was more than capable of taking them out with one of her various personas. Though, this might've largely been due to the fact that the shadows were in relatively low numbers here for some reason.

During the battles, Makoto had nothing to do but sit and wait like a helpless child. While this did irk him somewhat, he was still able to bear with it to maintain his cover.

Eventually, after what felt like hours of wondering, the 2 of them finally saw what looked like human figures.

"Hey!" The figures approached, revealing themselves to be Junpei, Akihiko, and a new short girl.

"There they are..." Kotone said in relief as the 2 groups converged "Glad to see you guys are alright."

"Right back at ya." Junpei said with his typical Junpei smile before noticing Makoto "I see you found him, too..."

"Nice to see you, too." Makoto said sarcastically before looking at the short girl "Fuuka Yamagishi, I take it?"

After a moment in hesitation, the girl nodded "A-And you are?"

"Yuki." Makoto answered "Makoto Yuki."

"And why were you even here to begin with?" Akihiko asked what'd been on everyone's mind

Makoto shrugged "I was bored and wanted to solve a mystery."

Everyone stared at him "Y-You came here... because you were bored?"

"Pretty much." He answered without a moment in hesitation "So, are we going to leave, or sit here until that Reaper thing tries to kill us again?"

That was enough to remind Kotone of the situation at hand "He's right. We got what we came here for, time to go."

And with that, the group was forced to wander the halls of the Dark Tower yet again, much to Makoto's personal ire.

After a while, they came across an area with open windows that revealed the large full moon. Everyone took a moment to take in how alien something as ordinary as the moon had become now.

"Full moon, eh?" The bluenette muttered before something clicked in his head.

Tonight was a full moon...

Last month on the 9th, the same day he killed the Priestess, that was also a full moon.

Akihiko turned towards Kotone "Hey, do you remember what the moon was the night the dorm was attacked?" Apparently Akihiko was thinking the same thing

"It was full," Kotone answered as everyone put the pieces together.

Akihiko reached for what looked like some sort of communication device and began calling out to Mitsuru but only received static, how those things worked despite the Dark Hour taking hold along was anyone's guess.

"Damn." Akihiko cursed as he faced the rest "If my guess is right, those shadows appear every full moon!"

Now with a large sense of urgency, the group ran until they found one the strange transportation devices and finally leaving the main blocks of the tower.

...

...

When the group arrived at the entrance, they saw Yukari and Mitsuru were both being attacked by 2 large shadows, while lacking numerals still have the colors/designs for the Emperor and Empress.

Yukari was lying on the ground next to an all but destroyed bike (yet another thing to question)

The brunette grunted "Argh, nothing's working!" she explained the main issue.

Meanwhile, Emperor who had been painfully holding onto Mitsuru with one hand threw her next to the brunette

Makoto glared at the 2 shadows as he had to fight the urge for his eyes to glow as a response to his hostility. 2 shadows, 2 targets... and 6 people that are responsible for handicapping him.

Out of nowhere, another girl suddenly marched into Tartarus seemingly in some sort of daze. Judging by her being here, she must've been the remaining 3rd girl who were responsible for Fuuka being here to begin with.

"Moriyama-san!" Fuuka exclaimed before running to the girl's side which just so happened to be right next to the shadows as well

When the shadows prepared to attack, Fuuka pulled out an Evoker of her own (presumably given before the 2 groups met)

"Wait, that's not a weapon!" Akihiko warned, apparently he must've not explained its function very well

"I know!" Fuuka said using telepathy again before putting it to her head and pulling the trigger as Emperor swung its sword

Then, her persona Lucia appeared which also formed a protective barrier around her and Moriyama which prevented the Emperor blow from doing any damage

Makoto simply rolled his eyes, completely unmoved by what had just happened. All he could think was _So the one who can't fight gets one, huh?_

His eyes continued to wander as SEES continued, now using Fuuka as a means to analyze the 2 shadows while the injured girls simply stood on stand by.

It was then that he noticed that Yukari's Evoker was also on the floor just like it was on the roof of the dorm 2 months back.

 _She should really take better care of these things..._ Makoto thought as he picked up the gun. At least now he had a means to actually do something other than sitting around.

"Wait, what're you doing?!" Yukari shouted as the boy walked closer to the fight

"What you're apparently bad at," Makoto responded as he placed the gun against his temple. He didn't need Fuuka, he could tell just by looking at them.

The boy took a deep breath as he pulled the trigger and summoned one of his oldest personas "Orpheus!"

Above Makoto, a humanoid figure formed above him. The figure had a metallic pale silver body with an equally pale lyre by his side, near the stomach was what looked to be some sort of speaker in the place of actual vocal cords. Most notably, the persona's face heavily mimicked Makoto's.

Makoto didn't even bother wasting time pausing like the rest of SEES, he just looked at Empress.

 _Agi._ He silently ordered as Orpheus played his lyre and caused the shadow to suddenly burst into flames

In retaliation, Emperor rushed to the boy and attempted to cut him in 2.

Makoto easily sidestepped the shadow's easy to telegraph attack "Too slow." he taunted as Orpheus used his lyre to strike the shadow's face.

The rest of the fighting members of SEES made their way to the boy.

"Alright, let's keep in short." Kotone said, never taking her eyes off the shadows "Those things, shadows. Shadows, bad."

"And we need to hit 'em until they die." Junpei finished with a cocky smirk on his face, he certainly was excited about all this.

Makoto sighed, so this is what being treated like the rookie was going to be like; Being told all the crap that you already know and probably know better in some instances.

As the two shadows recovered, Makoto could feel each one of their affinities change suddenly. What worked before wasn't going to work now. Suddenly, the girls having issues with them made much more sense.

"The one on the left is weak to ice!" Fuuka informed, referring to the empress "And the other should be weak to slash attacks!"

Kotone fired her Evoker again "Jack Frost." God must have a sense of humor because she summoned the same thing she teased Makoto for having a toy of.

Jack Frost merely looked at Empress before the shadow was trapped in a literal block of ice that knocked the thing down as soon it shattered.

"Get a load of me!" Junpei boasted as he fired his own Evoker and summoned his persona, Hermes.

Hermes seemed to fly to Emperor before using the edge of his heel to both slash and knock the shadow off its feet.

With both of them knocked down, Kotone saw their chance "All-Out attack!"

Then, the members of SEES charged at the shadows, repeatedly using their weapons to make small injuries on the shadows as they kept their momentum going hit after hit while Makoto was reduced to simply watching again. Eventually, the helpless shadows simply faded into a black mist from.

Makoto sighed _Boring._ He mentally rated the fight as he dropped the Evoker he 'borrowed' and walked past Fuuka who had passed out from exhaustion.

"Wait!" Makoto stopped in his tracks as soon as he heard Mitsuru speak

Not even giving her a chance to continue, he said "Call me when she wakes up. Until then, would you kindly piss off?" before walking off again. He already knew what it was about and he didn't have any reason to say 'yes' to anything.

* * *

**_Home_ **

Makoto took off his uniformed as dressed in his nightclothes and hit the bed as soon as he got home. It'd been a long day, and that warranted a long night to sleep.

"They know your secret now," Pharos warned, concerned about what repercussions may come

"Only one." Makoto shrugged it off, they were going to find out 1 way or another.

"Minato..." The boy sat up as soon as he noticed the somewhat nervous tone in Pharos' voice "... there's something I remember now."

Makoto leaned forward, now providing his full attention "What?"

Pharos placed his hand on Makoto's as the latter closed his eyes and felt foreign memories enter his mind. There were various things he felt, he felt the pain of deconstruction and reformation in an unstable body, the sight of a white room, and thousands of voices all talking and overlapping at once...

..But there was 1 name that still stood out even among all that.

Makoto's eyes glowed as he felt hatred stronger than anything he'd ever felt before surface "... Kirijo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do Makoto's powers work? Technically, I have an explanation now, but really, his power scaled with the plot. I was stupid.
> 
> You know what? Fuck it! I've bad talked this fic enough. It might have its cringe moments, things that were ultimately pointless, melodrama, etc, etc, but I like it. I spent a lot of my time dedicated to this despite getting nothing in return. I'll always have a soft spot for both this and it's MUCH more embarrassing predecessor. 
> 
> Actual trivia: Makoto (as indicated by the end) was supposed to be a full-on baddie in this. But hell, *I* liked him too much, everyone on FF liked him too much—so things got a lot more complicated. If Makoto's personality seems to flip-flop, either blame it on that or maybe he has some sort of personality issue on top of... well, you'll see.


	12. Chapter 12

**_Dorm_ **

It'd been about half a week, and just now Fuuka had fully recovered from her awakening and was finally released from the hospital.

True to what he said, Makoto refused to say anything to SEES until then. Whenever they tried, he simply put on his earphones and walked off. That, or he simply told them to "fuck the hell off."

But now, the wait was over. With Fuuka having regained her strength, both she and Makoto sat in the dorm's lounge with the rest of SEES.

Fuuka looked pretty nervous, she must've been very shy normally. Such a thing became apparent that she nearly jumped almost every time they said her name.

Meanwhile, Makoto kept his eyes on all of them as he had his right hand within his pocket clutching his knife.

Fuuka, Yukari, Junpei, Kotone, Akihiko, Mitsuru, and some geezer named Ikutsuki; There were only 7 people.

None of them had their persona abilities since the Dark Hour it was still a few hours away... A restriction he didn't have. He could sever Fuuka's jugular before any of them could even process what happened.

Then, he'd put his blade through that Kirijo bitch's heart where it belongs as Thanatos took care of the rest of them.

It wouldn't take long... His reflexes had been honed from the many years he's spent killing any shadows that dared to come near him.

7 seconds... That's all it'd take. 7 seconds and his lifelong goal would finally be achieved.

"Thank you for joining us." Ikutsuki thanked both of them.

"There's something strange about him..." Pharos said as he tilted his head and gazed at the old man "... I don't know what. But there's something about him..."

Makoto slowly and slightly narrowed his eyes as he subtlety glared at the old man "Get on with it..." he whispered, he wanted to see if they'd share anything he didn't know before he slaughtered all of them.

Ikutsuki looked at the junior members "First, I'd like to congratulate you all. You were able to uncover the truth even after it had become twisted because of some rumors of a ghost story."

Yukari smiled proudly to herself "I knew all along that it wasn't a ghost."

"Wait, wait... what?!" Makoto instantly dropped his glare and stared at Yukari bewildered "A-Are... Are you... Are you fucking serious?!"

"What?!" Yukari asked as she glared at the boy

"You're willing to face shadows, but you're scared of ghosts? You actually believe in that crap?" He almost couldn't believe that. He'd heard of some ridiculous things, but that... That's a special kind of special.

"N-No I don't!" Yukari declared as she stood up and intensified her glare at the boy

"Now, now, settle down you two." Ikutsuki did his best to calm the situation before it got out of hand.

"Hmph." Yukari sat back down as she continued to frown at the boy who simply rolled eyes.

"Makoto-kun..." Kotone called out to the boy which caught his attention "... please." and no more needed to be said for him to get the hint.

The boy lowered his head as his grip on his knife tightened even more. He was wasting time, he could kill all of them... Who cares about what they know?! He could send them all to hell where they belong!

It'd only take a minute at most... To hell with Mitsuru, to hell with SEES, and to hell with that damn group...

Group... That's right. There are more people than just the Kirijo's involved, then if they lived now... He might even get to add a few more names to his list.

The boy let his knife go and crossed his arms as the meeting continued. It went on as more and more congratulations for more crap that Makoto couldn't give less of a fuck about until things finally started happening.

Mitsuru approached Fuuka as 2 briefcases were set on the table. Makoto sensed the familiar sensation he felt whenever he was around of their Evokers or the one he kept at home from when Yukari failed to summon her persona when he killed Arcana Magician.

The senior looked at the short junior "Yamagishi, you saved our lives. You have a special power that could prove invaluable to our cause. Please, we'd like you to lend us your strength."

"Hey now, don't you feel like your pressuring her a little?" Yukari asked which made Makoto smirk "You don't have to join if you don't want to."

 _Infighting, are we?_ He thought as he silently chuckled to himself. It was subtle, but the tone of her voice held a certain... distaste in it. It made sense, her father died to a Kirijo project, it only made sense for her to hold a dislike for her senior. Scratch killing them, it was time to have some fun.

Surprising no one, Fuuka agreed to join them. Apparently, part of being a member also meant having to live in the dorm, too. Something that Fuuka actually preferred oddly enough, must have family problems at home.

And then, all the attention was on Yuki.

"Yuki..." Apparently Mitsuru preferred to be formal and call everyone by their last name "You, too, have a special power. Please, we ask that you-"

"Why should I?" Makoto asked which caught everyone off guard

Mitsuru blinked rapidly, doing her best to recover from the shock "E-Excuse me." She was prepared for a 'no', but she wasn't prepared for _that._

"Losing your hearing already?" Makoto teased as he stood up with his hands in his pockets looking as if he said something casual "I said: Why should I?"

"W-What..?" Akihiko barely managed to utter as he too was in complete shock

"Dude, are you serious?" Junpei asked, hardly able to believe that he just said that. If he said no he'd understand, but... Did he even care?

"W-Well..." Ikutsuki gulped as he pushed up his glasses "I-I've done research that supports the conclusion that the shadows that appear during the full moon are the cause for all of this." He said something that caught everyone's attention "The shadows appear under a certain 'class' that resemble Tarot Cards, from the Magician to the Hanged Man. If we eliminate the remaining ones, the Dark Hour will go with it."

SEES looked shocked while Makoto narrowed his eyes.

It didn't go unnoticed by him that the number of people with Apathy Syndrome took a dive immediately after killing a full moon shadow, but eventually, the numbers climb even higher than it was originally. Despite what he said, in actuality, they were making the problem better in the short-term, but worse in the long run. Like a drug addict who wanted to forget his problems, only to create 10 more while worsening his existing ones.

The boy shrugged "Nah, you can clean up your own goddamn mess, Kirijo." he said as he glared at the red-headed Empress.

"W-What..?" Mitsuru said with a slight amount of trembling in her voice which all but confirmed what Makoto had thought. This was going to be very, very fun.

"Do you think I just sit on my ass all day?" Makoto asked as he suppressed the smile that wanted to form from ear to ear. He gets to cause mayhem for her, all the while seeming like he has a legitimate reason to refuse to join, "I did some research of my own. Your family has owned our school for a long time, isn't that right?"

Akihiko instantly knew what he was talking about, something he and Mitsuru had kept from the juniors. He knew that Makoto might be a problem, but was he actually..?

"That's enough," Akihiko demanded, not wanting a reason for the juniors to distrust him and Mitsuru more than they already have.

"Curb it, albino." Makoto shot back referring to Akihiko's very light hair and pale skin "As I was saying: Your family owned the school, even back, oh, i dunno 10 years ago. The school becomes Tartarus every night, right? Around that time, a lot of students were reported as absent, too. Furthermore, there was eventually an explosion, too... On the same day *I* first experienced the 'Dark Hour' as you call it."

Makoto looked the Empress straight in the eye "The Kirijo group were experimenting with shadows, weren't they? But then, they fucked up and caused all of this; The Dark Hour, Tartarus, with it caused the death of god knows how many people with Apathy Syndrome. Feel free to say I'm wrong at any point."

"How... How did..?" Mitsuru took a step back, unable to believe that he'd just figured everything out all by himself. Now, she was going to have to deal with the junior members, but in the meantime... What was she dealing with?

"A little birdie told me." Makoto answered sarcastically before looking at the shocked junior member's faces "And you didn't tell any of them, either? Shameful..."

Makoto shook his head and glared at Mitsuru "You caused this, you fix it. Find another lapdog." he said before grabbing an Evoker out of one of the briefcases "Keeping this though. Safety first, right?"

The boy took a few steps back as he felt the tension in the room build to the point you could probably cut it with a knife "Well, I see you all have _loads_ to talk about." He said as he went to the door "Au Revoir!"

With that, he left the dorm with a smile plastered on his face. He doubted that it'd mean much in the long run, but exposing this was just so much fun.

Granted, Mitsuru and Akihiko probably hated his guts or wanted to avoid him, but it was a small price to pay. Besides, the juniors might even tolerate him more after this. He may have been an ass to them, but at least he was more honest than the seniors were to them.

* * *

**_Home_ **

Makoto continued laughing to himself as he remembered everyone's shocked faces. Especially that brunette's, to think that she was nothing more than a Kirijo's pawn just like her father was.

She was probably going to stay like that since she desperately wanted to uncover the truth behind her father's death, but the look on her face was the only thing he needed to make it all worth it.

It was honestly funny how they expected to him to say 'yes'. Did they simply think that every recruit was going to just jump on the bandwagon? Or was their strategy to simply provide the illusion of choice, all the while guilt-tripping those who wanted to refuse?

Mitsuru was nothing more than a manipulative piece of shit that deserved to be at the bottom of Hell for what her family had done to his.

Akihiko was nothing more than a soldier who only cares about fighting.

Junpei was an idiot who honestly deserved to be manipulated and used with how brain-dead he was!

Fuuka was... Well, she was a sweet little thing. It was honestly a little astounding, but innocence does nothing but blind those that possess it.

Ikutsuki was nothing more than another Kirijo lapdog, and to top if off Pharos didn't like him which solidified Makoto's distaste for him.

Yukari was nothing more than a whiny daddy's girl who just can't accept that life isn't fair. Even if there is some big reason her father died, what did she expect? Did she expect that her father died a hero? Maybe she'd get a cliched 'He never really died' message? What a naive foolish girl. Life's rarely so generous, it cares little about anyone or anything.

Finally, there was...

"Hello?" ... Kotone "I followed you back. C'mon, I know you're in there." she said from the other side "Open up... please?"

 _God, she'll be the death of me._ Makoto thought to himself as he opened the door a crack "What do you want?"

Kotone crossed her arms and took a small step back "You know, you just pissed off a lot of my friends, right?"

"Fuck 'em." Was Makoto's immediate response to that "What about you?"

"I respect your decision to refuse." She answered, her words seeming genuine "But, the way you did it was wrong."

"... Is it even possible to have you hate my guts?" He asked while tilting his head to the side

The redhead shrugged "I dunno. Maybe it's that cute emo cut of yours?"

Makoto did nothing but blinked slowly "... Was that supposed to be a joke or something."

Kotone slouched slightly as she felt complete bewilderment "My god, what is your major malfunction?"

"What do you want?" Makoto asked as he regained his serious face and tone "If you followed me like you said, then there's something important you want out there."

Kotone sighed as she looked very concerned, something that was emphasized when she softly kicked the ground with the tip of her shoe "You um... You didn't refuse because of me... right" she asked, sounding very worried "If you're as uncaring as you build yourself up to be, her lying to us wouldn't have meant that much to you."

"No." He answered bluntly as he continued to look down at the girl "There."

He was about to shut his door, but Kotone shoved her foot in the crack just in time to stop him.

Sighing, Makoto fully opened his door "That's not it, is it?" he asked, already knowing the answer. If mules were stubborn, then she was very obstinate.

"What do I have to do?" She asked which confused the boy. Sensing his confusion, she continued "I know you're angry over what I said, and you have every right to be. What do I have to do so that we can move past this?"

Makoto furrowed his brow as he looked her dead in the eyes "Tell me why you won't leave me alone."

Kotone looked at him blankly for a moment, as if thinking about what to say. Why _was_ she trying this hard? You can't help those who don't want to be helped, and he's done little more than be disrespectful towards everyone. So why was she trying so hard?

"I don't like seeing people in pain." She answered, her voice sounding much softer than usual "You were nice the other day, and I doubt the blackmail meant that much to you. Meaning, you're just trying to push others away."

"..." Makoto kept quiet as he continued to listen to everything she said.

"I don't know why you're like this, but I want to know." She continued as she took a step forward inside which made the boy take his own step back "And if I can, I want to help. So.." she held out her hand "... Please?"

Makoto looked off to the side, unwilling to look at her during this confrontation. She certainly knew how to use her words.

 _And why should I do that?_ Makoto thought as he felt traces of his anger remaining

 _You already know the truth..._ The voice whispered in his head.

As usual, the two conflicted over what to do. Unable to reach any form of consensus once again, leaving the boy to chose.

"Please, go." The bluenette said in a voice much softer than his usual one.

Kotone's eyes had a sad look in them as she put her hand down "... Alright." She was done. There was nothing more she could do anymore. She tried her best, but her mistake assured that this was hopeless.

She could feel her Death link crumbling as she walked to the door. She felt it being torn apart piece by piece until-

"And Kotone..."

She looked back and saw the boy still looking away, but still possessing his more relaxed tone and his cold atmosphere was replaced with a more calming one now.

"... I'm free Sunday." Minato finished as Kotone felt her Death link finally un-reverse itself just in time to prevent it from shattering completely.

The girl smiled warmly as she grabbed the door handle "What about Saturday?"

He finally looked at her, his expression is a mystery as she only saw the side that was covered by his large fringe "That works, too." He was free anytime, after all.

"Goodbye," Kotone said farewell as she slowly shut the door behind her, leaving the boy seemingly all alone again.

"Weird girl," Makoto said to himself as he went to bed, he'd done enough for today.


	13. Chapter 13

**_School_ **

Makoto repeatedly tapped his finger on his desk as the world around him continued.

It was like the more he went to it, the more of a waste of time school became. Honestly, who gives a damn how people in whatever era made their houses? When did history become so old it was irrelevant? Did it ever?

In contrast, Kotone was listening to the lessons and writing notes like a model student. How Makoto managed to get a higher score than she was a mystery to anyone.

The teachers sure seemed to love her, as they seemed to like calling on her to answer the plethora of questions they have to 'test' their students. Personally, Makoto thought they liked to call on her just to make themselves feel good about their ability to teach.

Regardless, the world seemed to go into some sort of 'fast-forward' state as the boy completely zoned out. One moment it was the morning, the next everyone was walking out the door.

"Hey~" Kotone called out as she gently shook the boy. Makoto shook his head and blinked rapidly as his senses snapped back into reality "Um... Were you completely zoned out just now?"

"Err... Yes?" Makoto muttered as he rotated his head to help with the stiffness he felt in his neck "Time to leave already?"

"Wow, you must've been _out_ of it." Kotone was actually pretty amazed, he was zoned out for over 3 hours straight. Was he even human?

Makoto merely shrugged as he stood up, acting as if this was an everyday occurrence "Alright. You're the butterfly, where are we going?"

"Butterfly?" Kotone repeated, was this his idea of flirting or something?

"Social butterfly." He clarified immediately "Since you've made so many friends in such a short amount of time. What'd you think I meant?"

Kotone shook her head, figuring that she'd spare them both some embarrassment "Nothin'. Um..." She paused for a moment "I dunno, usually, my friends point to a place to go." Kotone mentally face-palmed as she realized that every time she went out with someone, _they_ decided where to go. Maybe she should be a little less passive during her links?

"Seriously?" He asked flatly, always seeming to possess the same measured tone. He paused for a moment to give Kotone a chance to respond, but when nothing came he spoke up again "Well, I haven't been to the shrine yet."

She instantly brightened up as she grabbed his right hand "Then what're we waiting for?" she asked as she began to drag him away like a mother dragging their child.

* * *

**_Shrine_ **

"And here we are!" Kotone announced as she finally let Makoto go and outstretched her arms when she brought him to... the shrine. Predictable? Maybe a little.

"..." Makoto said nothing, he just looked at her blankly. The boy tilted his head slightly and cringed a bit "I've mentioned that you're weird, right?"

"I think the term is 'unique'." Pharos added on, his always being with Makoto meaning that he was here as well

"I've mentioned that _you're_ weird, right?" Kotone shot back as she thought back to their other interactions before scratching her head in confusion "Wait... Have I?"

The boy sighed again as he looked around the area. Everything was just how he remembered it from 10 years ago, funny how there were some things even time couldn't change.

Right next to the shrine was an all too familiar playground that he remembered spending a lot of time in... with _her,_ too.

The two of them used to even hold a few contests on who could make the best sandcastle in the sandbox, he wasn't very good but at least he made _something_ that could be presented.

 _"I'll beat you one day, big bro!"_ She never did.

"Hey," Kotone called out as she gently shook Makoto, keeping her voice lower than usual. She didn't know why, but the look on his face told her that something was bothering him.

"I'm fine." He said before looking back at the redhead "Just... Been a while."

 _"Been a while..?"_ Kotone thought as she remembered something. He stated before that he was born and raised here before his parents died, must've been hard on him.

Granted, he was flat-out rude at times and didn't seem to care about using his power to help anyone, but he couldn't be all bad, could he?

"Um... Makoto-kun." Kotone said awkwardly, trying her hardest to choose her words carefully

"What?" He said slowly, getting the feeling that he wasn't going to like where this was heading

She gulped, she didn't want this to end like last time "First, let me know if I start to cross the line again... 'Kay?"

Makoto narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he slowly nodded.

"Alright, um..." She cleared her throat, the fear of him losing his temper again still on her mind "You said you were born here?"

"Yes." He answered in his typical 1 worded sentence

"So err... Did you miss it? Here, I mean." She asked doing her best to avoid setting him off, yet learn more about him.

Makoto clenched his right fist moderately, but decided to give her a pass given her previous statement "Of course I did."

Even when suppressed, she could still feel the anger in his voice "That made you angry?"

"You tell me." He shot back, still having the feeling of suppressed anger in his voice

That went about as well as she expected. Looks like questions even slightly relating to his parents or childhood were a sore spot for him.

 _Guess I gotta change my approach..._ She thought to herself. This wasn't going to be an easy link to work with.

"Ever been to Destinyland before?" If "parents" or "childhood" was too touchy, then maybe being a bit broader would be fine?

"No." And this did little to change his habit of answering with 1 worded sentences

Kotone sighed, this was just tedious. If she took the safe approach, she wasn't going to get anywhere "Alright, I'll ask: Are you going to keep doing this?"

Makoto shrugged "I dunno, I'm just answering honestly."

Kotone just blinked and stared "... There's something wrong with you." she complained

"Whatever." He dismissed the complaint as he gazed off to another direction.

There in the distance were multiple gravestones, but only 3 held any meaning to him.

Even after all these years since the funeral, they still looked exactly as he remembered them.

There were 2 typical ones. The final resting places of what was left of his parents' corpses after that day.

And, there was the 3rd one... and that one was far too small to belong here.

"You alright?" Kotone asked, her concern returning as he seemed to space out again

 _"Do I LOOK alright?!"_ Makoto screamed internally as he began to feel his anger return.

Over and over, she just asked more and more questions. She was annoying, never stopped talking, and kept acting like she understood everything.

Why wouldn't she just shut up already?!

 _"Oh, no you don't..."_ The voice whispered as Makoto lowered his head and took a deep breath.

Minato exhaled as the anger he felt beginning to boil suddenly quell itself.

"This is the last place I was before I left," Minato admitted as he remembered what happened that day.

There were many people that attended that funeral that day. But, there weren't many that took notice of the short blue-haired boy that stood alone.

It wasn't that they weren't sympathetic, such a thing was shown when a number of them shielded him with their umbrellas when the rain began to fall.

The day was very gloomy, even by funeral standards. If one were to look up into the sky, they'd see nothing but the clouds that blocked the Sun.

No one saw what was in any of the caskets, though. No one but that little boy who saw just how each and every one of them died.

Of course, no one believed him when he told them what happened. He wasn't too surprised by that, even though he was 7 he wasn't an idiot.

They claimed it was something his mind made up to cope or something, but he still knew what he saw was real... No matter how much he wished it wasn't.

Maybe he wanted to believe them? Maybe he just wanted to believe that it was all a nightmare? But it didn't matter now, none of it happened.

Minato shook his head as he tried to push those memories out of his mind "Later, I was adopted by some of my relatives. I don't remember how we were related anymore though."

"Wait, you mean you didn't stay with them?" She asked which made the boy shake his head

"We didn't get along well," Minato answered, his tone had shifted from his usual flat yet cold demeanor to... this. "Then, I was shifted around between more and more people, until I ended up here."

"I'm sorry." She apologized. Even if he was the one who decided to say it, she's the one who led to him remembering this.

"For what? You didn't do anything." Minato replied, not seeing what disturbed her so much "That's then, this is now. And now is all I care about."

"Oh.." And then, there was an awkward silence between the 2 of them.

The bluenette was split between cursing himself for sharing that much and feeling a faint sense of comfort for sharing that with someone other than Pharos for once.

The redhead meanwhile couldn't tell if she should feel grateful for him sharing that with her, or if she should feel terrible for bringing up painful memories.

Minato chuckled to himself as he faced the girl again "Next time we go on an outing, how about we go somewhere more pleasant."

Kotone couldn't help but smile again, he basically just agreed this wasn't a one-time thing "Definitely."

The bluenette looked at his watch "It's getting late, we should probably go home now."

Kotone nodded in agreement as the two began to leave.

But, just before they could part, Kotone grabbed his arm.

"Uh-uh, time to cough up the number." She demanded as she pulled out her phone

"Um... Okay, then." He agreed as he reached for his right pocket... only to find his phone wasn't there.

 _Goddammit, Pharos..._ He thought as he pretended to reach for his back pocket, only to have his little plus 1 place the phone in his hand.

Not noticing his phone seemingly appeared out of nothing, Kotone exchanged numbers with the boy before going back to her dorm.

Makoto sighed as he looked at Pharos "Do I _want_ to look at the photos?"

Pharos blinked as he looked innocently back at his friend "Um... Maybe?"

The orphan sighed as he looked at the new photos on his phone. Apparently, he took more pictures of the girls in the changing rooms once again.

He let out a "Huh..." a he looked at the photos "Remind me to never let you on my laptop."

"Aw..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized that omitting the locations that I used to display during transitions might be leaving you confused. The reason I did so was that I stopped using them ages ago, although I forgot how much I relied on them back then. Oops. I think I might go back and edit those back in...


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, now all the location text has been added to both this and the previous chapters (unless I forgot some like usual. Just remember, eventually, they're gonna stop coming.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm-hmm-hmm, hmm..." Makoto hummed to himself as he disassembled his spare Evoker. Now that he had a spare, he didn't need to worry about breaking the thing should he be forced to fight during the Dark Hour undisguised.

The thing may have looked like a gun, but it sure wasn't assembled like one.

"Are you making any progress?" Pharos asked as he lied on his back on the same table

"Casing's being a real bitch," Makoto replied before cracking his knuckles and trying again. "Almost... And..." There was what could only be described as a popping sound as the casing finally gave way.

 _Finally._ Makoto thought as he felt the strange sensation he felt from the 'gun' amplify by ten. When he checked to see what was inside, he saw a small feather-like crystal inside of it.

"Whoa..." Makoto whispered as he found himself almost being mesmerized by the glowing crystal

"I remember this..." Pharos said as he moved closer and examined the crystal as well "I believe it's called a... Plume of Dusk."

 _"That so..?"_ Makoto thought as he continued to look at the crystal. Slowly, he reached out for the feather-like crystal and grasped in with a finger and thumb.

"It... Feels weird." It was hard for him to describe what it was like to actually touch the Plume. It was as if he was touching nothing at all, yet somehow feeling something solid between his fingers at the same time.

Then, there was a knock on his door.

"Who is it?" Makoto looked at his old friend who nodded before walking through the door.

"It's her." Pharos answered from the other side, his voice always finding its way to reaching Makoto and Makoto only.

"Come in!" Makoto shouted as he put the crystal back where it previously was.

"Hello~" Kotone greeted as she opened the door and stepped inside "What're you doin'?"

"Seeing what's inside one of those Evokers of yours," Makoto answered as he stared at the exposed components. Outside of the crystal, there wasn't all that much noteworthy about the thing. It had some sort of mechanism that triggered the plume to allow the summoning of personas, but even that on its own wasn't too much.

"Ooh, let me see." She said as she walked over and looked down at the table next to the boy. Kotone never really question what the inside of an Evoker looked like before, only caring about its use to summon personas "Um... Okay, I don't have any idea what I'm looking at."

He pointed at the crystal "That right there, from what I can gather, is what makes the whole thing work." He explained, "It's called a Plume of Dusk."

"And you know this because..?" He was saying things even she knew nothing about. She knew that he must've had some sort of way of getting inside information, but how?

"That's for me to know." He avoided answering the question as he put the casing back where it was supposed to be.

"Fair enough." It only made sense that he wouldn't want to share all of his secrets so soon. Especially since Mitsuru was probably trying to find out for herself.

Makoto yawned and stretched his arms before standing up and facing the redheaded girl "Alright, what do you want to do?"

"I dunno." She answered with a shrug. Once again, finding places to go was more of something her links decided rather than her

"Too bad, your choice this time." He said as he leaned against the table. He picked last time, so naturally, it was her turn now.

"Game of fairness, eh?" Kotone asked as she thought to herself "Uh... Wanna grab a bite?"

"Fine, but I'm not making anything." He said with certainty which caused the girl to make a pouty face "What? Even if I wanted to, I don't have anything."

"Never in my life have I heard anything sadder." She muttered to herself while crying inside as the two (plus Pharos) left, Makoto scratching the back of his head in confusion as Pharos sighed woefully at the fact that Kotone was wearing shorts beneath her skirt again.

* * *

_**Iwatodai Station** _

Deciding to go to a place called 'Wild-Duck Burger' the two (once again, plus Pharos) sat down at a table as Pharos did his usual crowd watching.

Kotone was digging into her fries not noticing Makoto smiling. He wasn't smiling at _her,_ but rather a distant memory that had happened a very long time ago, but refuses to leave his mind in its entirety.

 _She eats so much like you, doesn't she Minako?_ He thought, she always liked to stuff her face. Not that he could blame her, especially when their mother made something for them ; If Minato was a master at cooking, then his mother was god-like in comparison.

But none of that mattered anymore. Minako was gone, and so was their mother and their father. They'd be gone for a very long time.

"Whoa..." Makoto shook his head and snapped out of his daze as he looked at a seemingly flabbergasted Kotone "Y-You just smiled... Not one used to mock people either. You actually smiled for once... At me?"

"It wasn't you." Makoto denied as he looked away "You... You remind me of someone I knew from a very long time ago. She liked to stuff her face too."

"Ooh, did the mean, mean Makoto-kun have a crush?" She teased as a smirk formed on her face

"No, it was nothing like that." He denied again, knowing full well she had no idea who he was talking about. And how could she? He'd found a way to edit his file a long time ago after biological relatives stopped wasting their time on him so that no one knew about her, something that was easy to do since he was a nobody so no one could catch on.

Of course, he kept the fact he was an orphan in for obvious reasons. It was still enough to allow rumors to circulate from whatever school he attended to the next, but he was beyond caring at this point.

"Change the subject..." He said as he looked back at her. This was different from last time when he was possessed by an uncontrollable rage. He seemed to actually be pleading with her as if he was being put through some sort of torture so horrible that he couldn't even get angry anymore "Please, change it... Anything, Anything else. Anything but this."

Kotone instantly nodded her head as her smile faded away almost instantaneously. She may have wanted to know more about him, hell, maybe even convince him to join SEES someday if he's willing, but she wasn't going to torture him.

"You decide." She decided to play it safe. If he was the one who decided what it was, then there wasn't a lot of room for an error like her last screw up, right?

Makoto hunched over slightly and looked at his arms that were crossed on the table.

"What was your first time during the Dark Hour like?" He asked as he looked back at her "Judging by how you walked through it easily when you got here, I'd assume it wasn't your first time."

"Not much to say... One night I stayed up late and freaked out for an hour until it went away..." Kotone laughed nervously before something he said caught her attention "Wait, you were there on the train when I arrived?"

"I arrived on the same train," Makoto admitted, not seeing much of a reason to hide it. He already shared that he'd known about the Dark Hour for about 10 years, so there wasn't much to be afraid of "To be honest... I thought you'd die."

Makoto seemed to look off into the distance as he looked very confused "Is... That bad?" he asked "I expected you to die as soon as a shadow found you, and I didn't care. To be honest, I don't even get why death is so terrifying to people. It's just as much of living as actually living is, right?"

"That's two questions in one, which one do you want an answer to?" Kotone asked back as she looked at the boy with a dead-serious look in her eyes.

"I don't know." He knew this was wrong. He shouldn't be talking about any of this, but the voice's whispers just kept him going and his will to resist continued to wane.

"Answer this: Do you actually _want_ to die?"

"I can't kill myself if that's what you're thinking." He dismissed the thought. In truth, he'd tried when he was still a boy a few times, but Pharos refused to let it be "My regeneration is automatic, it'll heal me no matter what I want."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only answer I know how to give." Makoto didn't sound like his usual self, either. His tone wasn't the same as yesterday which gave off an oddly calming aura in a way, instead, he just seemed... Lost for some reason.

"Are you okay?" She asked, honestly starting to be extremely concerned for his state of being.

He looked down again and said nothing. Over and over, she just kept asking questions he didn't have an answer to. Did he want to die? Did he want to live? He knew he wanted to kill anyone involved with what happened, but what then?

What was it that he truly wanted deep down?

"Can I go?" He asked, still looking down as his arms "I'm sorry, but... I just can't stay here. I-I... I have to go, please..." Once again, he seemed to be pleading with her again. It was seeming like he'd been locked in a torture room that only she could let him out of.

Without hesitation, Kotone nodded "Yes." She couldn't say no to that. She didn't care about anything else, she just wanted to stop tormenting the poor boy. He may have been a dick at times, but that wasn't an excuse to torture him.

"Thank you..." He thanked as he virtually ran out of the restaurant and likely back to his home

"I'm sorry..." Kotone whispered as she looked down. She'd hoped that doing this would help him, not hurt him even more. She fully expected her link to reverse again or shatter completely, but instead it seemed to get even stronger as did her understanding of him.

Did that mean, Makoto wasn't angry at her?

* * *

_**Home** _

"ARGH!" Makoto screamed as he slammed his head against the hard kitchen counter as hard as he could. He felt his ears ring as a concussion undoubtedly formed, but was promptly healed by Pharos as the latter sadly watched his friend's breakdown.

"DAMMIT!" He screamed as he slammed his head again. His blood was boiling in anger again, he was even more furious than what had happened during Kotone's little screw up a few weeks ago.

This time, however, his ire wasn't directed at her. Instead, it was focused purely on himself for everything he'd just said to the girl.

Why did he say _any_ of that?! All he had to do was say enough to indulge her and be done with it.

But no, he went off and ran his mouth. Fortunately, he didn't say anything that could've called into question anything he'd previously said at the moment, that that's was just it : At the _moment._ How long would it be before his screw up lead to actual problems?!

Then, Makoto took of his shirt and threw t across the room before marching off into the bathroom. After all, blood doesn't wash out of clothing very well.

Makoto glared at his reflection from the mirror. His eyes were glowing dim blue from his emotional stress, his face wasn't just one of ire but of pure disgust, and his lip had traces of blood from times he had repeatedly bit his lip.

The boy lifted his right hand which had been brandishing a knife the entire time.

Taking one last look in disgust of himself, he jabbed the knife into the left side of his chest. Then, he pulled the knife out and stabbed his chest again, and then one last time. In doing so, he completely severed all the arteries that were connected to his heart. If he was normal, he'd have died a slow and agonizing death.

But Makoto was far from a normal person.

Now holding his knife in a reverse grip, he continued to repeatedly stab his arm over and over as his blood sprout and gush blood which poured down the drain of his sink. One he stabbed the limb so much that he completely lost feeling in the limb even with Pharos' healing, he turned his attention back to his torso.

Over and over he stabbed himself and caused multiple lacerations as penance for his stupidity.

By the time it was all over, Makoto was almost completely covered in his own blood.

Pharos stood on the other side of the wall in the other room. This was _far, far_ worse than anything he'd ever done to himself before. Over and over, Makoto continued to hurt himself on the assurance that none of it could possibly kill him.

At which point, Pharos began to wonder, was he even helping him anymore? What else could he do?

He knew that Makoto would do anything he'd ask, but what was the right thing to do? If he didn't do this, then what else would he do? Go to Tartarus and essentially do the same thing?

The little boy lowered his head and kept his silence. He made a vow to protect Makoto from any threats he faced and help him achieve his goal, but was that even the right decision anymore?

What was he supposed to do?

...

...

"We're heading out." Makoto who had cleaned himself up and dressed in a new set of clothes said.

"To Tartarus?" Pharos asked as he blinked, this was everything he was afraid of. He knew that he shouldn't let him and that he had the power to stop him easily... But no matter what, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Pretty much, not like I have anything to worry about as long as you're with me," Makoto said confidently as he left his apartment with an Evoker in his pocket.

SEES knowing he had an Evoker and knowing that he was a persona user made things easier for him.

If he was caught by SEES without his disguise, then he was simply visiting Tartarus despite them telling him not to. If they weren't or SEES was running late, then he simply dons his disguise and explores Tartarus with Thanatos.

* * *

_**Streets** _

Makoto walked silently down the streets with his head down and earphones on as the world continued as usual.

Of course, it being late night meant that some of Port Island's more _unsavory_ inhabitants came out to play, but none of them concerned him. After all, anything they dished out would be returned one-hundred fold as soon as they become coffins.

Still, for the most part, he was able to get away during the normal hours without any trouble.

But, as the Dark Hour set in and Makoto continued, he began to hear footsteps that weren't his. From the sound of it, it was a group of multiple people but too small to be SEES which now had 6 members.

"We're being followed," Pharos warned as he glared behind the bluenette

"I know," Makoto replied as he stopped walking and waited for the footsteps to approach him. And from the shadows came a group of persona users that he hadn't seen ever since April.

"Greetings." Takaya greeted as he held his five-shot revolver in his hand.

"What the hell do you want?" Makoto asked using his normal voice which was different enough from the voice he used when talking to them before to avoid any suspicion.

"I suppose we really should get down to business..." Takaya said as Jin walked forward and held up something "This is your name, is it not?"

Makoto squinted as he looked closer, true to what he said, that _was_ him. He'd heard about some revenge site where someone could simply pay money and give a name, and vengeance would be theirs.

Perhaps letting all those punks go when he destroyed one of their faces wasn't such a great idea. One of them must've done some digging and coughed up enough cash to get payback against him.

And, as annoying as it was, Strega might know more about certain topics than SEES does or an amnesiac Pharos. Meaning, he had to keep them alive even though they now sought to kill him.

Furthermore, due to the duel personas of his, he had to stick with Orpheus to fight them _without_ killing them.

Makoto quietly glared at Strega as one thing came to his mind.

_"Well, shit."_


	15. Chapter 15

_**Streets** _

"So, you're the infamous assassins that go after people once their names had been filed on a revenge site." Makoto put the pieces of the puzzle together as he looked at the members.

Takaya's weapon of choice was obviously a gun and he seemed to have a sort of leadership role. Either he was the strongest, or he was charismatic enough to make the other 2 follow him, or quite possibly both. Strangely, unlike the rest of them, he didn't carry an Evoker anywhere. Did that mean he could summon without one, too?

Jin seemed to prefer handling grenades surprisingly enough. The way he seemed attached to Takaya's hip meant that he was completely devoted to him and/or was a sort of second in command. If that's the case, then he's likely somewhere around Takaya's power level at least, and Makoto could sense the his persona could repel fire which was Orpheus' main element.

Behind them was Chidori who seemed to be hiding and ax attached to a chain. Given the way she seemed to always behind the other 2 and never says a word, she's likely a sort of third-wheel of this group. She didn't have any obvious tells in terms of her power though, but if they kept her around and her status as a third-wheel was correct then she must have some sort of unique abilities, one of which was the ability to absorb fire.

"Indeed, we are." Takaya confirmed as he pulled back the hammer of his revolver and took aim "Any last words?"

"Yeah..." Makoto smirked as he looked at Takaya's unnatural yellow eyes "Anyone ever tell you that you look like an aborted fetus of two deformed crack addicts?"

Takaya just looked at him with a blank face, not even wanting to even justify that with a response. Not even bothering to say anything, Makoto watched as he pulled the trigger.

Just as the pale man was pulling trigger, Makoto jumped to the left as he pulled out his Evoker and pulled the trigger "Orpheus!"

Lo and behold, the muscian with the Death arcana appeared and fired an Agi between Makoto and Strega which clouded the area in smoke.

 _Time to go._ Makoto thought as he ran as fast as he could. While Orpheus was a persona unique only to him and was amplified by Pharos, his weaknesses without any worthwhile resistances to compensate.

After running a fair distance, Makoto hid behind a dumpster in a nearby alley, he may not have been able to use any persona other than Orpheus but he didn't need them to have Pharos disguise his presence. He didn't need to incapacitate them, he just had to wait until the Dark Hour ended.

"They're coming," Pharos warned as footsteps approached closer and closer to where Makoto's current location was.

Without saying a word, Makoto nodded in acknowledgment as the footsteps came closer and closer before halting abruptly.

 _Huh?_ Makoto thought in confusion. Why'd they suddenly stop?

Suddenly, Makoto saw a small round object land right next to him.

He barely had enough time to let out "Oh shit." before the grenade went off.

Makoto didn't even have time to scream as he was pushed back into a brick wall as several bones shattered and pieces of shrapnel pierced his flesh in several areas. The boy wasn't even able to cough due to one of the pieces severing his windpipe.

Needless to say, Pharos got to work immediately healing the boy ; Fusing all the bones in their proper places, returning the flesh to its former state while pushing all of the foreign bodies out.

Once he was able to move, Makoto reached into his left eye and pulled out a piece of debris that had been lodged there as Strega approached him again.

"I must say, your regenerative abilities are quite fascinating." Takaya seemed genuinely impressed that the bluenette was still alive "It's such a shame it must end like this"

Pharos stood next to Makoto as he silently glared at the three persona users. Had it not been Makoto's desire to keep him a secret, he'd make all of them pay in a heartbeat for hurting his friend.

Chidori seemed distracted by something as she looked at Makoto. No, that wasn't right, she wasn't looking at _him._

"Huh?" Pharos tilted his head and looked off to the side and away from Makoto, and her head followed as if she was a hawk tracking her prey.

 _S-She can see him?!_ Makoto screamed in his head. How was that possible? Not even Fuuka nor Mitsuru, both of whom were able to both sense and scan opponents.

"What're you looking at, Chidori?" Jin asked, noticing the girl's distraction

"I don't know..." Chidori replied, her voice was extremely soft almost to the point of it being unnatural "There's a feeling of emptiness around him, but I don't know why."

Makoto's eyes widened as a feeling of panic began to set in. That's how they found him! Her sensory abilities must've been different somehow, and now he had to get her away from Pharos before anything else could happen.

"Stay away from him!" Makoto screamed, his protective instincts completely overriding any logic as Orpheus reappeared without him firing his Evoker and slammed his lyre down at Chidori's location. To hell with keeping them alive, no one threatens Pharos and gets away with it.

Caught by surprise, Chidori was almost killed right then and there by the mechanical musician, and managed to dodge the lyre by less than an inch, but the fissures the lyre caused still knocked the girl down.

With Takaya distracted, Makoto took the moment to immediately get on his feet and ran to the gunman as one sword materialized in each of his hands. While he preferred single bladed combat, he was far from untrained when it came to dual wielding.

The boy attacked with both blades at once attempting to slash the man's flesh until it was nothing more than a red mush at most.

When the pale man took a step back and narrowly avoided the blades' edges, Makoto took the opportunity to use his nigh-inhuman agility to its full advantage by leaping into the air and slashing his swords beneath his feet as he jumped over him.

Unfortunately for Makoto, Takaya managed to duck just in time to avoid the attack as the bluenette landed on the ground.

Rather than focus on Takaya, Makoto turned his attention to his fellow bluenette with glasses.

Not even giving him a chance to pull the pin off any of his grenades, Makoto ran to Jin and performed a rush down strategy by getting as close to the boy as he could followed immediately by him attacking his swords with a flurry of blinding strikes.

Blood scattered all over the alleyway as Makoto performed his rush down on the bluenette before using his persona-augmented strength to knock Jin a few feet into the air.

Jin's ascent was immediately followed by Makoto jumping into the air with him and positioned himself just behind the boy with glasses.

"Die, damn you!" Makoto yelled as he struck Jin's back which caused his body to launch towards and then on Takaya.

As soon as he landed on the ground, Makoto felt the flesh on his left shoulder tear open as an ax attached to a chain passed by him.

However, the momentum of the axe and chain hadn't stopped quite yet. Makoto took the opportunity to attack the chain itself which easily shattered in just a single strike.

Chidori gasped as she realized that she was left almost defenseless as her persona was less battle-oriented than typical persona users.

Makoto took a brief moment to glare at her before smirking, almost as if she was taunting her by saying that she was next.

Orpheus then reappeared and slammed his lyre down again in an attempt to crush the girl. With her being able to absorb fire-based attacks, this was the best that persona could do.

Naturally, Chidori moved as fast as she could out of the way and took out an Evoker of her own.

 _"Dammit,"_ Makoto thought as the grip on his swords tightened. It'd be nice if Orpheus was able to use Sukukaja or Sukunda to either speed one of them up or down.

"Medea!" Chidori called to her persona as she fired her own Evoker.

"Tarunda," Makoto muttered as Orpheus played his lyre and the boy charged at the female persona user. He may not be able to slow her down, but he was able to weaken whatever blows her persona could give.

"Mudoon," Chidori whispered as a dark purplish ring began to circle Makoto as he ran to her.

 _"Ah, crap..."_ Makoto thought as he suddenly felt every muscle in his body scream in pain as his legs gave out mid-sprint which caused him to fall and roll on the floor. Mudoon was unfortunately one of the two main weaknesses that Orpheus had.

"Nrgh..." Makoto grunted as the sword in his right hand transformed into a knife. While he had a strong preference for swords, his personas provided him with a large variety of weapons to choose from.

 _"Die, die, die!"_ Makoto chanted mentally as he threw the knife at Chidori as hard as he could which managed to hit the girl on the right side of her chest.

Makoto might've even chuckled at her screams in pain, but his attack was immediately followed by the electricity of a Ziodyne hit him from above.

The boy screamed in pain as he was hit with his persona's second weakness before he felt the wind of a Garu spell knock him into a wall again.

"Goddammit..." He muttered to himself as he got back on his feet as his various injuries healed.

He was getting absolutely nowhere with this. If he screwed up and one of them lived to see him wield a different persona, he'd be screwed later on.

"You fight is admirable, but futile." Takaya announced as he walked towards the boy again "Accept your death with grace! It is the only true means of deliverance from this tainted world."

"Oh, god... heh... hehe... Haha haha," Makoto suddenly started laughing as if he'd been told the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard "Oh, I get it now. You're like me and can see this piece of shit world for what it is, but you think dying is going to miraculously save you?"

Makoto looked like he was going to fall into another laughing fit "You're pathetic."

"Enough!" Takaya took aim again, this time being sure to aim for the boy's head "I did not home here to discuss philosophies!"

Makoto looked out the corner of his eye and saw some of the blood-like liquid that covered their surroundings was beginning to retreat.

He smirked as he looked back at Strega "You talk too much."

Suddenly, Orpheus appeared in front of his master to absorbed the bullet that Takaya fired.

Then, utilizing the speaker built into his stomach, the persona blasted a sound wave powerful enough that all three Strega member were forced to cover their ears at the risk of losing their hearing.

Taking advantage of their distraction, Makoto bolted away from the alley and gained a fair amount of distance before stopping and staring back with a cocky look on his face.

Strega approached again with Takaya having his gun aimed at him the whole time.

Makoto chuckled as he raised a finger and waved it in the air "Uh-Uh."

Suddenly, all the green that covered the area disappeared as all the electronics began to function once again, the sounds of vehicles being used could be heard, and everyone who was in a coffin began to become free again.

Makoto looked at Strega, still donning his cocky smile. If they fired, the police would be here in a moments notice.

Takaya seemed to look both displeased at his failure, but impressed at Makoto's ability to survive.

Now not being able to act discreetly anymore, Strega walked away as they faded into the shadows.

With Strega gone, Makoto turned his attention to someone _much_ more important.

The boy crouched down and looked at Pharos with far more concern than he ever gave anything else in his life "Are you okay? Did anything happen?"

Pharos shook his head "Nothing happened." he assured before looking at where Strega once was "She was able to sense me... How?"

"I was hoping you'd know that," Makoto said before looking at the moon which was currently in its waxing gibbous phase. Only a few more days until the next full moon.

"Who do you think filed the request against us?" The little boy asked, wanting to know who sentenced his friend to die.

"I don't know." Makoto shrugged as he began to walk back gome "Whoever it was, he won't be showing up any time soon."

"Are you... feeling better now?" Pharos asked, secretly hoping that Makoto had recovered from his tantrum.

"Not as good as I'll be when i rip their hearts out..." He answered as his eyes were unsuppressed and finally reacted to his emotional state.

Regardless of what had happened tonight, Strega and whoever filed the request could wait. If he knew the pattern correctly, next up should be Arcana Hierophant

Who knows? Maybe even Lovers will show itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edge... Edge... EDGE!!!!
> 
> Whoa, never realized just how bad it was. I really do make a bunch of edgelords! Ah well, so be it. This WAS back during his villain days.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to restate something I said earlier. This is NOT an accurate representation. What I'm referring to will practically be spelt out for you at end.

_**Home** _

Makoto looked out the window as the blood of his left arm dripped into the bowl that he set up to avoid making a mess.

Kotone didn't show up to hang out with him today, which wasn't too surprising. SEES had figured out the pattern of the shadows as well, so they likely spent the entirety of the day preparing ever since school ended for the day.

Of course, none of the other members of SEES wanted anything to do with him, which was expected. The senior members did whatever it took to avoid the boy and Akihiko even seemed to glare at him occasionally, likely due to the boy's uncaring attitude towards the Dark Hour.

The juniors were a little more diverse in their interactions with Makoto.

Yukari seemed to be severely uncomfortable around the boy just like always. It was for this reason that he occasionally liked to playfully make idle conversation with her just to bother her some more, something he enjoyed quite a bit.

Junpei was a bit more passive in the sense that while he didn't do anything to avoid him nor to pay attention to him, something which worked just fine with the both of them. Makoto found him rather annoying and he always smelled like he hadn't bathed in weeks, but still found him easy enough to tune out of his mind.

Fuuka was similar to Junpei as she didn't do anything to avoid the boy either. However, unlike everyone except Kotone, she was still polite to the bluenette whenever they were forced to interact with each other. Seeing how she was the only member of SEES outside of Kotone he could tolerate, Makoto spared her from any of his games and returned her politeness.

Of course, Kotone was Kotone... There was nothing else that could be used to describe her. Whatever the voice in his head was, he(?) seemed to be rather fond of her for whatever reason. Whenever they interacted, he never exactly felt right around her... It was strange, like his mood would shift from one thing to the next in an instant in some instances.

SEES certainly was a strange bundle, all of them were united to eliminate the Dark Hour from what he had heard from them.

Of course, none of that meant anything to Makoto. If SEES was right and the Dark Hour ended, then it ended. While that time period was a sort of home for him in a strange way, killing those shadows was something that Pharos wanted therefor that was all that mattered.

Lately, a lot of the Lost have been showing up in "pairs." If this was an indicator of anything, then Pharos was probably about to have the night of his life if they were going to have to go where Makoto thought they were going.

Once the Dark Hour settled in, Makoto's wound healed as he turned to where his friend had been watching "So..?" he whispered, still needing a moment to recover from the blood loss

"Hmm..." Pharos hummed as he closed his eyes and focused. Neither of them knew why the mysterious little boy felt the need for those shadows to die, he just did.

After a few moments, Pharos was able to detect where they were "Hmm... Interesting location."

Makoto sighed as he stood up, now recovered from his daily habit "Where?" he asked, already getting the feeling he wasn't going to like it.

Pharos seemed excited for some reason "It's called...

* * *

_**?** _

"... Shirakawa Boulevard." Makoto sighed as he looked at the place in question. Even when he was a boy, his parents didn't like either being or having him being anywhere near this place and it wasn't hard to see why.

This particular area was infamous for its love hotel, and humorously enough, a lot of the lost had been caught in the middle of the act. Makoto couldn't stop but chuckle every time he thought about it, especially since they said Apathy Syndrome was due to _stress._

Makoto's smirk died when he spotted all of SEES gathering around the entrance with Kotone picking her party members to go in with her. It looks like they beat him to the punch.

"Look." Pharos pointed to the roof and saw Strega watching intently. Likely trying to figure out what the hell SEES was doing and why.

 _Damn._ Makoto cursed mentally. If Chidori really could see Pharos, then using Thanatos and using his disguise was out of the question. It looks like he was stuck with Orpheus during this full moon tonight, too.

Not seeing the point in simply standing around and doing nothing, the boy casually walked to the members of SEES.

"How ya doin'?" Makoto greeted casually which caused most of them to scream in shock. Apparently, neither of them were expecting anyone to shock up "Hmm... Interesting way to say hello."

"Makoto-kun?" Kotone said surprised as everyone else had similar reactions.

Mitsuru walked closer to the boy and looked at him with a stern look on her face "What are you doing here?"

Makoto merely shrugged casually "I was bored." he gave the same reason as last time as he looked at the building "So, this is where the next shadow is, right?"

"Why?" Mitsuru asked, "If I recall correctly, you said that you didn't care."

"I don't." He confirmed, "Like I said: I'm bored."

"You can forget about going in." Akihiko spoke up, his ire for the junior's complete disregard for the well being of others showing clear as day "You didn't join us, remember?"

"Which means your orders are worthless or is that just not how logic works?" Makoto asked acting as he'd just heard one of the most ridiculous things in his life. The boy sighed "Love me, hate me, I don't give a shit. We can argue all night, but I'm going in, whether you like it or not. You can work with me or..."

"Or what?" Junpei asked a bit concerned, he didn't like Makoto but the very idea of what he was implying...

"Or I can swoop in last minute and save your asses, of course." He said playfully with a laugh, he didn't even try to hide the fact that he took delight with their worried expressions

"Yuki-kun, please, it's dangerous here," Fuuka warned, deeply concerned about what happened to the boy.

"Which makes it all the better." Makoto chuckled to himself. "Thanks for the warning, though."

"Do you think this is a joke?!" Yukari finally lost her temper and screamed at him. How could he just act like this all meant nothing? People were dying because of this hour and here he is having the time of his life.

"Do I think you're a joke? No shit." Makoto insulted the entirety of SEES nonchalantly before pausing for a moment pretending to be confused "Oh, that wasn't what you meant?"

"Enough!" Kotone shouted which caused everyone's attention to snap back to her. "Kill each other later. For now, we have to deal with the shadow."

She looked at Makoto who could've sworn he saw a fire in her eyes "Want in? Fine, but you're doing as you're told in there."

"Meh, I can live with that." Makoto shrugged, being forced to work with them wasn't the worst thing in the world.

"Persona's properties?" She asked knowing next to nothing about his persona other than its appearance

"Orpheus likes to burn and smash things, but can't take being zapped or cursed." Makoto explained as he looked down at his right hand which was holding the sword he summoned before coming here "And I like swords."

"Wait, you're persona doesn't even have any resistances?" Even someone like Junpei caught on to Orpheus' main flaw. "This is a joke, right?"

"Remind me to never use Dia on you." Makoto rolled his eyes, even he lamented over the fact that even by initial persona standards Orpheus' affinities were pathetic.

"Alright, we're going in with a group of five this time, so..." Kotone looked over her options. Yukari had stated at the dorm that her going in was non-negotiable, so she had to pick two people.

If Makoto's persona specialized in fire, then bringing Junpei along would be a waste. Not to mention, someone had to stay behind and protect Fuuka in case anything came out of there.

"... Guess I'll take our senpai, then." Kotone said which caused Junpei to look both shocked and disappointed. Makoto noted that from what he saw during SEES' visits to Tartarus, he hadn't been brought along during those either. It looks like someone was developing an inferiority complex.

As the group was moving into the building, Makoto approached Junpei and whispered "Taking me instead of the guy who's an actual member? This is a joke right?" he jabbed, now feeling even for the capped boy's comment on Orpheus, he ran to meet up with the rest.

...

...

Even with the shadows drawn to their larger and stronger brother like moths to a flame, it didn't take the group of persona users long to reach the large door that leads to where Fuuka and Pharos sensed was where the next big one was.

Kotone placed her hands on the door and opened it just a crack before looking back "Ready guys?"

The member of SEES simply gave an affirmative nod, knowing full well just how dangerous shadows were and how quickly/easily things could go wrong.

"Can we just get the night over with?" Makoto answered with a sigh. If it was anything like the last one, he should probably be ready for a quick battle followed by going to bed immediately.

Kotone sighed, dismissing Makoto's casualness to what would be a serious matter to anyone else and opened the door.

Inside the room was a shadow in the form of an obese man sitting on a chair with a female figure behind him massaging him. In front of the shadow were two crosses that seemed to move left and right as if they were dancing in place.

"Got anything to tell, Fuuka?" Kotone asked wanting to know what would work on the shadow before engaging

"It's immune and specializes in electricity," Fuuka warned which made both Makoto and Yukari groan at their shared weakness.

"Of all the shadows it could've been, it had to be this one..." Yukari muttered, lamenting over the fact she insisted that she'd be on the one operation with a shadow that specialized in her weakness

"Dammit." And now, Makoto could look forward to being bored and tired from being zapped over and over.

"Alright, it doesn't look like there'll be any gimmicks so this will be easy." Kotone said as the group of persona users spread out across the room "Akihiko debuff its defenses and Makoto-kun focus on debuffing its offense, and then the rest of us can destroy it."

"On it!" Akihiko announced as he fired his Evoker and summoned his persona Polydeuces who weakened the shadow with Rakunda

 _"I'm missing you, Thanny."_ Makoto thought as he summoned Orpheus who played his lyre and used Tarunda. If he was able to fight like usual, then he'd be able to take care of all of this by himself.

Makoto sighed as he saw Yukari, Kotone, and Mitsuru charge off to kill the shadow while the two of them were forced to sit back and make sure the buffs didn't wear off. It made sense from a strategic standpoint, but just sitting around and waiting was almost pure torture for Makoto.

"This is dull." The boy mumbled too quietly for his senior to hear

"How odd..." Pharos whispered as he looked around the area "There should be more than this."

"And I'm sick of waiting," Makoto said as he glared at the shadow, wanting to do nothing more than to tear the thing to pieces. But first, he was going to need a way to counteract the electricity he'd have to deal with.

Then, Hierophant shocked and knocked down Yukari with Zionga which was enough to push him over the edge. If someone as frail and weak and she could fight, then so could he.

 _Marakukaja_ Makoto ordered which boosted the defense of everyone's personas, an action that was dismissed as extra assistance at first.

"Time to piss 'em off..." Makoto said to himself before he charged headfirst to where the others were, completely ignoring everyone calling out to him.

"Agilao!" The boy ordered as one of the crosses incinerated into nothing but ash and dust

"Makoto!" Kotone shouted, but the boy completely tuned her out along with everyone else. Momentarily letting her guard down, the second cross took the opportunity to attack with its razor-like edges.

"Watch out!" Mitsuru warned as she kicked the cross as hard as she could to save her leader's life followed by using a Bufula to cause pillars of ice to rise from the ground from her to the shadow.

"Maragion." Orpheus played his lyre which caused the ground around Hierophant to combust from multiple fireballs launched from the musician

Right when Makoto was about to get in close, the Hierophant's chair seemed to somehow jump back as if it was as living like the rest of the shadow.

The shadow laughed as the entire group was zapped by a sudden Mazio, the only ones who got out of it mostly unscathed were Kotone who had Oberon equipped and Akihiko who specialized in electricity.

Hierophant summoned more and more crossed all across the room, easily outnumbering the persona users who were merely a group of five.

Makoto was about to get up until he heard "Stay down!" followed by Akihiko's persona, Polydeuces punching one of the crosses that had managed to sneak up on the bluenette.

"Tch, bastard," Makoto said as he glared at Hierophant. He was about to charge and kill that thing once and for all, but then the shadow laughed.

Makoto blinked and suddenly he found himself in what looked like a large graveyard.

" _ **Minaaatooooo."**_ A deep and echo voice called out to the boy using the name that was forbidden by all but one.

"Huh?" Makoto looked left and only saw more graves, then right and only saw more graves, then behind him and only saw more graves.

 _ **"Minato!"**_ The boy looked back in front of him and saw one of the few sights that could petrify even someone as stone-hearted as he was.

To the right was the bloodied body of his mother lying on the ground with multiple visible compound fractures.

To the left, was the body of his father who looked like he'd been completely eviscerated by shrapnel or glass or something.

In front, was a sight he never wanted to see again.

His long-dead sibling reached her hand "Minato..." she called out to him

The bluenette's eyes widened as he ran to his sister without a second thought, but then he suddenly felt like he took a large blow to the chest that both knocked him back and left him out of breath.

Feeling his broken ribs crackle as they moved back into place, Makoto got back on his feet and was about to run again but then he saw _it._

Above him was the moon, but not just the moon. In front of it, was a figure with a white face that harbored an unsettling grin, soulless and empty black eyes, two sets of massive wings that seemed attached to the figure's hips, and it wielded one large sword in a single hand.

The figure descended until it finally landed on the ground, only to find that the scenery had completely changed. They weren't in a graveyard, but seemingly on the top of a massive tower now.

"Minato!" Minako called for her brother again, but he could only stand there petrified "Minato! Come back!" she begged as her entire body became engulfed in a flame, but that did nothing to stop her constant calls for her brother who could only stand there.

The mysterious figure stopped remaining idle and charge at the still terror-stricken boy who was defenseless when it began using its blade to repeatedly attack the boy.

The figure circled him as the motionless boy took blows to his chest, back, the left side on his face, his right calve, and nearly had his left arm dismembered before he felt another blow to his chest that caused him to get knocked back until he felt his back hit what felt like a wall.

The lone orphan sat there on the ground as his old friend continued to heal one injury after the other as quickly as he could. Despite his pleas the boy remained motionless, it was like Pharos for the first time, was completely blocked out.

The persona user blinked just in time only to see the figure that was making another dash towards him only to see it transform into one of those crosses created by Arcana Hierophant. The scenery changed as well, back into the room in the love hotel in Shirakawa Boulevard surrounded by numerous more crosses, and the figures that resembled his dead family faded away in the literal blink of an eye.

"Huh?" Makoto tried to regain his senses as one of the crosses was about to attack again, only to be immediately be burned to pieces as Kotone used the persona that looked like the infamous Jack O' Lantern, otherwise known as Pyro Jack.

Makoto blinked again as he tried to understand what had just happened to him. Meanwhile, all of the crosses seemed to develop some sort of homicidal fixation on the boy which forced the members of SEES to defend the bluenette, for they were unaware of his inability to die.

"I-It..." Makoto's eyes glowed faintly as he realized what had happened, something that SEES was too distracted to notice. The shadow just used one of its special abilities to use the very family he lost against him.

"Y-You..." Makoto felt his rage boil up to levels that he didn't even think was possible as Orpheus appeared also in response to the unstable emotional state of his master.

"Y-You... YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Makoto screamed as Orpheus slammed down his lyre hard on the ground which caused a massive inferno to suddenly surround the entire room killing whatever shadow it touched like it was pure hellfire.

Makoto glared at Hierophant who despite being a shadow, showed clear signs of distress at the boy's rapid recovery and counter-attack

"Hientou!" Makoto ordered Orpheus to use one of his more unorthodox attacks.

Orpheus played his lyre, but a single ray of light left a noticeable slash wound across Hierophant's chest and set the shadow ablaze.

The bluenette trembled in anger that he'd never felt before. He's been insulted, beaten, thrown away like trash simply because he wasn't the model foster child... But nothing ever made him have to sit through something like that.

"USING MY FAMILY?! I'LL TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!" Makoto screamed as he marched to the shadow and incinerated any crosses that Hierophant summoned.

SEES couldn't help but watch as the boy made short work of any shadows in the area, shadows that they had been trying to defend him from when Hierophant caused him to hallucinate.

Hierophant tried to use his chair to jump again, but Orpheus rushed to shadow and grabbed it by both arms before lifting it into the air. When separated from the main body, the female figure and chair seemed to just die as if they were cut off of their life support.

"And when I make a promise..." Makoto gave a sinister smile as his eyes flickered from blue to yellow for just a split moment before reverting to their normal state "... I'm a man of my word."

Still holding on tightly to Hierophant's arms, Orpheus put his legs against the shadow's chest before extending them and pulling its arms with all of his might until they were ripped off and Hierophant was left on the floor without any way to get up.

Makoto jumped onto the shadow's chest as he channeled Orpheus' fire into his sword as he briefly locked eyes with shadow before wildly slashing at its face over and over all the while shouting various obscenities in a fit of rage.

Even when the shadow had faded into nothing, Makoto kept swinging his blade at the ground and left a large scratch mark until Pharos finally intervened.

"Minato, that's enough," Pharos said in a desperate effort for the boy to get a hold of himself

Even with the intense flurry of emotions overwhelming the boy, he still stopped the moment Pharos asked him to and looked back to see SEES staring back at him.

"The first person to ask what I saw will know what it's like to eat through a straw for months." He threatened as he passed by them and walked to the door. But when he tried to open it... It didn't even budge.

"Huh?" Fuuka seemed surprised too "What's this? There's another shadow?"

"Great..." Makoto whispered as his eyes flickered again before he managed to get them normal again. Another shadow for him to get rid of.

"Where is it?" Yukari asked the obvious question as she looked around the room.

"Be on your guard." Mitsuru warned them "There's no telling what the enemy might do."

Makoto, meanwhile, leaned against the door as SEES did their searching. Who knows? Maybe they'll get knocked out and he can do everything himself.

"You alright?" Makoto looked up and saw the closest thing he had to a friend inside SEES

"Do I even _look_ alright?" Makoto snapped back, clearly still pissed off by what had happened a few moments ago

"Never would've happened if-"

"Are seriously wasting your time criticizing me?" Makoto snapped again, his rage was still fresh enough that he was going off of pure emotion and the voice didn't even get so much as a few whispers in.

Kotone sighed, giving him a bit more leeway with his temper because if what Hierophant did was enough to petrify him and it did involve his family, then saying it was emotionally devastating would be nothing more than a euphemism.

"Look, I get that you're pissed off-"

"Yet, you're wasting your time doing this?" Makoto just wouldn't stop snapping at the girl who was trying her hardest to be patient with the boy.

Kotone frowned, her patience was quickly running thin with him "Well, unlike _some_ people, I care about more than just myself. Even someone as rude, anti-social, and frustrating as you."

Makoto let out a "Tch." as he looked away from the girl before suddenly relaxing.

"Off-topic, but did we die at some point?" Makoto asked a seemingly random question

"Off-topic, but do you like being asked questions with obvious answers?" Kotone answered with a rephrased question

"So, did we become vampires then?" He asked, still not making a lick of sense

"Okay, what's wrong with you? Did you hit your head or something?" Kotone asked, not understanding what was with the unrelated questions

"Apparently, I don't have a reflection," Makoto answered as he pointed to the giant mirror at the other side of the room. Just as he said, the mirror reflected the room but no one that was actually in the room at the time

"What the heck?" Kotone thought out loud as everyone approached the strange mirror.

"Hey, does this mirror... _Feel_ weird to you guys?" Yukari asked as she reached out her hand

" _Wait!_ Don't-" Makoto's warning came too late as Yukari's hand touched the mirror and everyone's world went black.

...

...

...

Makoto's mind felt hazy as he felt someone holding his hand and dragging him away. Whenever he tried to focus on whatever was happening or even whoever was dragging him, his concentrating suddenly broke and his vision began to darken again.

Having no other choice, Makoto could only put his trust in whoever was leading him... Not that he had much choice in the matter.

The boy blinked and slowly opened his eyes and then found himself being pushed onto what felt like a bed. The bed was soft, inviting... and felt like it was beyond tempting. He wanted to remain there until the end of time with the one that leads him here.

Makoto sat up on the bed as he felt the same person that lead him here sit on his lap. The boy blinked again and he was finally able to see who it was that lead him here.

Kotone giggled as she unbuttoned his shirt and began to run her hands along his surprisingly toned upper body. Her shirt was unbuttoned, exposing her white bra and breast.

Try as he might, Makoto couldn't help but find himself staring at her chest and feel himself getting hot, including in places he'd rather not speak of.

This was strange. While he wouldn't call himself asexual before, he never really found himself ever getting distracted or even caring about a girl's physical features, nor did he ever care about getting into a situation like... _this._

Kotone giggled again, the look in her eyes was different too, whereas before they either had a warm or fiery look in her eyes were now replaced with ones full of what could only be described as lust "Like what you see?" she teased

The same spell must've been what was affecting Makoto as well, as he found himself leaning in closer, likely with the intent of capturing her lips with his own.

However, Kotone placed three fingers on the boy's lips "Uh-uh, I'm thinking: how about we save it for later when we get started..?" she asked before leaning in and whispering in his ear "... What do you say?" she asked as she nipped his earlobe which elicited a gasp from the boy.

Makoto didn't even answer, he simply returned the favor by leaving a trail of kisses down her neck which caused her to moan softly.

Makoto would've continued to move down to her cleavage, but then he felt a stabbing headache shoot through his entire brain at once.

 ** _Give in to your desires..._** A voice said. It was different from the one he heard normally. Normally, the voice he heard at least sounded like him, but this sounded anything but human

 _Huh..?_ Makoto thought as he felt senses slowly returning

 _ **W-What?! H-How're you..?** _This new voice seems shocked by Makoto's resistance before regaining its composure again and began whispering seductively again **_Why do you resist? Just give in... Minato._**

 _Minato..._ The name repeated through the boy's mind as he felt Kotone kissing his cheeks, jawline, and moving down to his own neck as he had done for her.

The boy blinked as he felt various feelings course through his brain. The most apparent one was disgust at the one who was quite literally sitting on him. It wasn't that he found her hideous, but rather, he found himself being touched, especially to this extent, to be nothing short than rage-inducing.

Makoto was about to give in to his rage and push her odd him, but then he felt another headache.

 _Don't hurt her!_ The old voice that had haunted him for months now spoke again _She's under the same spell, you idiot!_

 ** _Stop_** _ **resisting, damn you!** _The inhuman voice spoke again, this time screaming into his mind _**I offer you nothing more than bliss, Minato. She's yours and only yours, stop resisting and claim her.**_

 _My... My name is Makoto..._ Makoto thought as his partner began to notice his idleness

"Aw, feeling shy?" She teased before she started to pause and placed a hand on her head as she felt her headache form

 _You are Minato Arisato._ The voice spoke again, continuing saying things the boy didn't want to hear.

 _I... We... We are Makoto... We are Makoto..._ Makoto blinked as he felt himself trembling "We... We are Makoto... we are Makoto." The voice was flat but somehow managed to have an almost bone-chilling aura.

 _We are Minato._ The voice spoke again as the boy's body began to tremble more "We are Minato..." the bluenette's voice was still flat compared to most people, but it had a sort of comforting aura that the other one lacked.

Makoto wanted to push the girl off him "We are Makoto."

The voice... Minato wanted to snap her back to reality "We are Minato."

Makoto's anger forced the boy to frown as another sign of his anger "We are Makoto."

Minato's concern made the boy look deeply concerned "We are Minato."

The two sides continued to battle, neither able to gain a steady foothold on the other. The boy's body continued to tremble as he continued to whisper the two names and his expressions continuously shifting from what one wanted to the other in a moment's notice. In the midst of their battle, the boy himself was left trembling, confused, and terrified.

Then, he felt a pair of foreign arms on his shoulder which startled the confused and currently unstable boy.

Like a small child, the boy tried to push them away all the while squirming and whimpering.

"It's alright, it's alright, it's alright!" Kotone shouted at the panicking boy as she managed to force his arms off her and placed her hands on his face in a desperate effort to make him look at her

"See? It's me, it's just me." She asked as the boy looked back, her eyes having reverted to their usual warm selves.

Seeing that he was still trembling and probably terrified, Kotone hugged him closely as Makoto/Minato continued to tremble and argue over the next course of action

"It's alright, it's alright..." she whispered trying to calm him down. She didn't even care that neither of them even had their shirts buttoned, she was too distracted over his sudden breakdown. What the hell just happened to him?

"K-Kotone..?" He muttered her name as he continued to tremble as if he'd been in a freezer for hours

"It's me, it's me... Just relax." She kept whispering as his trembling slowly started to cease.

"Are you two alright?" The both of them heard Fuuka's voice calling telepathically to them

"We're fine, Fuuka. Just... It's complicated." Kotone answered as she continued to hold onto the terrified boy. It was almost impossible to believe this was the same boy who seemed completely cold-hearted and unfazed by anything and everything.

"I'm sorry. I've tried reaching you, but the shadow was clouding your thoughts. I couldn't-" Fuuka seemed disappointed in herself

"Don't worry about it." Kotone assured her friend "Just... give us a minute."

"Um... Did something happen?" Fuuka asked, she might've been able to sense them but she couldn't _see_ what was happening inside.

"Nothing that should be repeated." Kotone answered immediately "Just give us a minute." And with that, Fuuka's presence was gone.

Now that he had stopped trembling, Kotone pushed the boy back enough that they could look at each other face to face again "Hey, you alright?"

The boy paused for a moment before slowly nodding.

"I-I... I'm fine..." Minato finally answered as the facial ticks finally stopped and his voice kept a consistent tone

"Alright..." Kotone might've blushed at the fact she was _still_ sitting on him if none of this had happened, but she kept a straight face as she got off him and helped the boy up "Can you still fight?"

"I.." Minato paused again before nodding "I think so."

"Alright, first we need to find the others," Kotone explained their objective before noticing their shirts were still showing both of their chests. Not wanting anyone but the two of them to know exactly what happened she decided to button up Minato's shirt for him "No one needs to know about this, alright?"

Minato nodded again not showing any more obvious signs of... whatever it was that was happening previously. He seemed a lot more docile than before, not in the same sense that he was simply bored or something like usual, now he seemed more... Well, for lack of a better word, human.

"So..." Kotone finally covered herself properly and rearmed the both of them "Ready?"

Minato nodded again "Lead the way." he replied without complaint.

Kotone couldn't help but have everything that had just happened in her mind during the entire time. Something was different about him now.

Whenever they ran into a shadow in the hall, he listened to every order she gave without question, even if they allowed little to no combat involvement. Not only that, but he completely stopped making any of his obscene jokes, and was a lot quieter in general.

The words she heard him whisper were still replaying over and over in her mind

_"We are Makoto..."_

_"We are Minato..."_

It wasn't just the sentences, but the tones used when he said both of those names were different. Both were flat, yes, but the aura they gave off was almost a complete one-eighty.

It was at this moment, only one idea came to mind for why something like that was possible.

Kotone looked over her shoulder and at the boy behind her who was barely even the same at this point.

_Is... Is he..._

He wasn't just hopeless. He wasn't just traumatized. This... This was something else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1st off, Edge... like, damn. Eh, I guess that's how I was when I was younger. Oh, who am I kidding, it still has something of an effect on me.
> 
> 2nd, NOT an accurate representation! I'm not trying to be accurate. Why am I beating you over the head with that? Because mental health is a serious issue... plus, I've seen Joker.


	17. Chapter 17

**_Shirakawa Boulevard_ **

"Agilao, now!" Kotone ordered her partner as they ran into another shadow

"Orpheus," Minato called as he fired the Evoker SEES gave him less than a month ago. Even the way he called out to his persona was different. Before, he always sounded excited even if he kept a level tone, but now all the excitement was gone and his voice sounded slightly more stern.

As ordered, Orpheus appeared and burned the blob-like creature until nothing was left but a brief appearance of black smoke. The Death Arcana must've been extremely powerful because Minato was able to easily kill a lot of shadows in just one shot.

Normally, Kotone would feel comfortable even a little happy that she had a powerful teammate watching her back, but she couldn't shake the feeling of unease. Whether this unease was out of concern for her safety or concern with the boy's mental state was a mystery even to her.

There was only one reason that she could think of as to why he was whispering two names while using the pronoun 'we' and having so many behavioral changes at once. But, what was she even supposed to do if she was right? Call a doctor? His foster parents?

"The others are just ahead!" Fuuka notified them that their search was about to end soon.

True to what she said, the other three SEES members were there. All of them appeared unharmed, though, for some reason, Akihiko seemed to be shiver and on his face was a... handprint?

"There you guys are!" Kotone said relieved as she reunited with her teammates "Are you alright, did anything happen?"

"N-No... Nothing happened!" Mitsuru objected a little too fast and she sounded uncharacteristically nervous

"Yeah! _Nothing_ happened at all!" This was then followed up by Yukari.

Akihiko said nothing, he just shivered again as if he'd been frozen solid and recently freed from his arctic prison.

"Wet hair..." Minato muttered seemingly out of the blue

"H-Huh?" Yukari said nervously as her face began to redden

"What're you talkin' about?" Kotone asked wondering if this... side of the boy was delusional or something.

Minato pointed at Yukari "Your hair's wet..." and then pointed at Mitsuru "So is yours..." Then, he looked at Akihiko who was rubbing the print on his face "... Did you slap him, too?"

"W-Well... U-Um..." Mitsuru didn't seem to have any words. Being in that sort of scenario must've been foreign to her, especially given her patrician heritage and upbringing.

"S-So what?!" Yukari screamed at the boy who had tormented her with his constant wicked jokes and cruel nature "Going to make some smart ass joke now? Is that it?!"

"Huh..?" Minato tilted his head seemingly confused and somewhat baffled "Um... Why would I do that?"

Everyone stared at Minato as if they were looking at some sort of alien creature for the first time in their lives.

"Is... Is he okay?" Akihiko finally spoke up as he stared in bewilderment. Usually, Makoto just made some sort of rude/cruel/insensitive joke just to piss them off, but he now seemed like it was a completely foreign concept to him. Did something happen?

"N-No reason!" Yukari wasn't going to complain. She just silently counted her blessings on the fact that the bluenette was finally going to do something other than mock her. She didn't know if this change in behavior was temporary or not, but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Mitsuru narrowed her eyes slightly. Everything was... off about him. He looked more alert and cautious than before, his voice sounded a bit more relaxed and comforting than before, his posture was a bit more forward but not quite hunched over, and his eyes looked like they harbored genuine concern rather than nothing but apathy.

Kotone suddenly realized the situation they were in. What was she supposed to do? Explain what just happened and risk having him scorn her and possibly completely shatter her Death link? Lie to her friends and teammates, the people who've had her back from the very beginning?

Minato blinked, not understanding the strange looks he was receiving from everyone "Don't we have a shadow to take care of?"

"Yes... Yes, of course." Mitsuru said as she remembered her objective

"Before... _that,_ there was that weird mirror right?" Yukari asked, reminding everyone of what caused this situation.

"Anything you can tell us, Fuuka-chan?" Kotone asked her fellow junior

"Give me a moment..." Fuuka asked before pausing for a moment to focus before saying "I'm detecting two sorts of 'locks' on each floor. You're going to have to find them and destroy them before you proceed to the room the shadow is in."

"Some sort of 'locks'?" Kotone repeated, what would constitute as a lock in this case

"Mirrors are everywhere in these rooms. Considering one got us in this mess, they're likely what the shadow is using to keep us out." Minato said matter-of-factly "Kotone and I can take care of the one on this floor while the rest of you take care of the one on the next. After that, we can rendezvous outside the shadow's room."

After laying out a fairly solid plan, Minato looked at everyone "That work?"

"U-Um... Yeah, that works perfectly." Kotone said, a little surprised at the fact that _he_ just took over as leader for a moment there.

"Understood." Mitsuru also seemed to agree with the plan as she leads Yukari and Akihiko up the stairs to go look for the mirror that protected the shadow.

Minato turned to Kotone "Shall we go?"

Kotone blinked, still not used to this sudden behavioral change "Y-Yeah! Let's do it." she agreed as they entered the nearest room.

In the room was a sight similar to the room they had seen not too long ago. There was a large bed, an adjacent room with a shower, and a very large mirror.

Minato walked to the front of the mirror and stared at it "No reflection..." He noted

"That means we need to break it, right?" Kotone asked remembering that the mirror before also had no reflection. But, what if it was the other way around? What if they were just going to be put into... that scenario again?

"No telling if this is going to backfire so..." Minato turned to the redhead beside him "So how're we doing this?" He asked "Draw straws? Rock, paper, scissors?"

Kotone blinked "... Seriously?"

"Hey, I don't wanna go through that again..." Minato said dryly as he looked back at the mirror, and he could've sworn that he could feel something emanating from that mirror now "Alright, how 'bout we play fair and _both_ of us break it?"

"Well... um..." Kotone thought for a moment. If both ended up snared, there was no telling if they'd be able to break out of it again. Then again, with him being how he was, he was pretty unpredictable and there's no telling what he'd do if she got charmed again. And if he was the one charmed, he'd probably have to go through that all over again.

"Alright, let's get this over with..." Kotone said as they both held onto their respective weapons tightly, silently praying that this works out for them.

"On three?" Minato asked which the girl nodded to

"One..."

"Two..." _Please work, please work, please work..._ They silently prayed in harmony

"Three!" Just as they agreed, both of them attacked the mirror as hard as they could, both closing their eyes the moment their blades made contact with the mirror.

...

...

...

"I don't feel different..." Kotone said somewhat relieved, but still reluctant to open her eyes "Do you?"

"I think I'm good..." Minato answered, making everything seem alright so far.

"A-Are you still wearing everything?" She asked, still keeping her eyes shut in case anything was out trying to corrupt her virgin eyes.

"... Just open your eyes." Minato ordered, completely disregarding his status as her temporary subordinate.

With a loud gulp, Kotone slowly opened her eyes, ready to see... Things she wasn't ready to see.

All there was to see was her body stiller than a body preserved in ice and the mirror which was now leaking a black mist from the cracks that had formed from the damage it had sustained from their attacks.

"Whew..." Kotone sighed in relief "And my innocence is secure!"

Minato just stared with a blank face "... You're the weirdest person I've ever met." he announced before walking past her

The girl groaned _Great, now **both** versions of him are saying that... Wait._

"Makoto-kun!" She called out which made the boy stop in his tracks "Um... About what happened..."

"Thank you."

"Huh?" She was expecting a 'no' or 'not now' or something along those lines. Besides, what did she have to be thanked for? "W-Why're you..?"

"Not saying anything... or leaving..." Minato clarified before he felt fear beginning to take over "That.. um... How much did you hear?"

"Hear?" She repeated, not sure what to say.

"I was uh... I was mumbling some stuff, right?" He asked as he looked back at her, there was an undeniable look of worry on the boy's face "... How much of that did you hear?"

This was it, the moment of truth. Did she let him know that she knew?

If she _did_ do that, he might try to avoid her due to not wanting to confront the issue. If he did that, not only might their link shatter, but god knows what would happen to him if left alone in the meantime.

If she _didn't_ do anything, then he might try to avoid her due to not wanting to have another close call. Then, the same thing would happen.

... There was no good answer to this, was there?

"Um..." She looked around awkwardly as she thought to herself.

Makoto was antisocial, rude, apathetic, and at times very volatile as seen when he killed Hierophant. He frequently said crude jokes to anger people and always seemed to have fun while doing it.

Still, he wasn't _all_ bad if one decided to try hard enough and for enough time. He could be nice if he wanted, and he clearly showed that there was more to him than just the person he let himself appear as.

Then, there was this one who Kotone could only the one called 'Minato'. He seemed a lot nicer, gentler, and generally a much better person than Makoto normally was. He stopped making crude jokes, he took the shadows seriously, he refused to insult anyone (hell, he looked at everyone weird for even suggesting it), and acted like how a normal person would for the most part.

She hadn't seen much of him yet though, but from judging from the little she had, maybe this was who he was? They didn't seem like two different people from the bottom up, but rather two vastly different interpretations of the same person.

What was she supposed to do? She barely even understood what was going on, never mind how to react to it all.

"... I... I dunno. I heard your name in there somewhere." She panicked and partially lied "Why? Anything serious?"

"..." Minato kept silent as he looked forward just hung his head for a few moments of silence before saying "Let's get going."

...

...

"Déjà vu," Minato noted as everyone gathered outside the room just like they had done less than an hour ago.

"Everyone okay?" Kotone asked as she looked at everyone up and down. The girls didn't seem anymore embarrassed than they were before, and Akihiko didn't seem to have any new handprints or anything on him.

"We're fine, and I trust you're the same as well?" Mitsuru asked to which the girl nodded to in confirmation "Yamagishi, anything you can tell us about what's behind this door?"

"Let me see..." Fuuka said as she began scanning "Its Arcana is the Lovers, and it seems to specialize in charming foes and can also use moderate fire attacks." She warned everyone.

"Here we go again..." Minato muttered as they went through the door and saw the shadow that caused all of this.

Above them flew what seemed to see a giant heart with wings. The heart itself was both made up of and partially bled a jelly-like substance while the wings were made of a more solid variant. Within the heart were the floating Mars and Venus symbols representing males and females.

Yukari seemed to be pretty pissed off for some reason "You're the reason I was forced to home to this disgusting place!" she screamed at the shadow which made Minato tilt his head. Didn't she _ask_ to come here?

Whatever logic there was in that statement could be debated later. Now, they had to face the shadow that made this entire operation a nightmare for everyone.

"Guys! Debuff, now!" Kotone ordered as the male members of the grouped fired their Evokers with Makoto casting Tarunda and Akihiko using Rakunda

"Yukari, stay back and if it tries charming anyone, use Charmdi." She continued to bark out orders "Everyone else... surround it, keep it weakened, and wear it down."

Just as they were ordered, Yukari stood by the door with her bow and arrow as everyone else surrounded the flying shadow. The strategy itself was fairly solid if not a bit basic; It was simple but effective. But, there was one major flaw in the plan.

While not resistant, Arcana Lovers had a slight affinity to fire...

... Mitsuru had a strong affinity to ice.

Amid the battle, Lovers summoned multiple fireballs from a Maragion at the group of four that surrounded it.

Mitsuru gasped as she was caught off guard as one of the orbs of nothing but pure fire was launched at her. Even though it was weakened with a Tarunda, everyone's current affinities assured that even an attack like that would be devastating. And since Mitsuru was weak to fire, even with a Tarunda...

"Senpai!" Surprising just about everyone there, Minato used Orpheus to push his senior out of the way while taking the full force of the attack that was heading towards him on top of the pain from his persona's injuries bouncing back to him, the force of which made him impact with the wall just as Makoto did before when facing Hierophant.

Makoto growled loudly at the boy's actions _Taking the blow for the Kirijo bitch? I doubt she would've **died** from that._

 _I don't care..._ Minato responded as he stood up and glared at the shadow

Beside Minato, Pharos titled his head as he looked upon the boy. Even he knew something was different about him, but he couldn't explain what it was. He kept silent in the meantime, but after watching that... What happened to his friend?

Regardless, it was at least still his friend's body and that had to be healed. Whether Lovers' charm somehow broke his mind or not was irrelevant at the moment, he still needed a body to live.

Minato felt a pang hit him as a headache began to form. Makoto wasn't trying to take over now, a sudden shift again would raise too much suspicion... So what was it?

"Polydeuces!" Akihiko called out to his persona who took the opportunity to hit the shadow as hard as he could while augmenting the punch with electricity which caused the shadow to let out a screech despite it not having a mouth.

"Ares, Getsu-ei!" Kotone followed this up with the Greek god of war, Ares attacking with his blade

"Media!" Yukari shouted as she summoned Io which healed everyone from any wounds they suffered and even sped up Minato's already fast healing properties. The bluenette shook his head and started to think while the shadow was distracted.

 _Hmm..._ Minato silently hummed as he began to form a plan in his mind.

"Senpai!" Minato called to his redheaded senior who looked at him, now more than ever willing to let everything he had done up to this point be forgiven "C'mere, I have an idea!"

Then, he turned to Yukari "Yukari, I need you in this too!" He called to the brunette who despite his previous actions, was willing to let him make up for them... especially if it leads to end this fight once and for all.

"Whatever you're going to do..." Akihiko grunted as the shadow used its jelly-like wings to hit the senior who was forced to absorb the blow while blocking with nothing other than his human arms.

"Hurry it up!" Kotone finished for her senior as she barely dodged a Holy Arrow which probably would've to lead to her being charmed.

Suddenly, hearts started to form above all of them. Judging from the surprised and somewhat panicked gasp Fuuka made when they did, this was likely going to be a very powerful attack unless someone stopped it immediately.

"Get ready!" Minato warned as he suddenly started taking off into a full sprint

"Mitsuru!" He called out to his senior before he jumped onto a block of ice summoned by Mitsuru's Penthesilea

"Yukari!" He then called to the junior that Makoto had the most distaste for, and then he was suddenly lifted high in the air by a Garu from Io.

Before the shadow had time to react, Minato took his chance to cut Lovers' fragile right-wing clean off as if it were jelly. Suddenly, all of the hearts that had appeared above everyone faded away from the damage the shadow had taken.

"Akihiko, zap it!" Minato ordered as soon as his feet hit the ground.

"Got it." Akihiko agreed seeing how well the plan was going. His disliking for the junior aside, he was proving himself to be quite useful in combat.

As soon as Arcana Lovers landed on the ground, Polydeuces followed it up by zapping it with a bolt from a Zio to render it into a state of shock.

"Kotone! You, me, together, now!" Minato explained his plan as quickly as he could which was thankfully enough for the redhead to get the hint.

The bearers of The Fool and Death ran to the weakened shadow as fast as they could before attacking with their respective weapons simultaneously as hard as they could which finally knocked the shadow down and left it completely vulnerable.

"What was that you said before?" Minato asked which made the girl smirk at the implication

"All-Out Attack!" Kotone ordered as everyone charged at the shadow and continued to circle it as they made various small strikes in every angle they could find until the shadow let out another shriek before fading away into a black mist

Everyone panted as they all felt like falling onto their knees.

"Heh... That worked..." Minato muttered to himself. He seriously expected to be blown to pieces, but it all worked out for everyone.

"Great work you guys!" Fuuka congratulated them on a well-earned victory "Let's go home."

...

...

...

Everyone gathered in front of the hotel that everyone would dread for the rest of their lives.

"Another operation well done all of you." Fuuka congratulated them again, her words seemed genuine rather than being there to simply boost morale.

"Yeah, great~ job..." Junpei muttered under his breath as he hid his eyes with his cap.

Minato stood to the side as SEES continued to celebrate their victory before Mitsuru approached the boy.

"Yuki, while you did it for selfish reasons, your assistance during this operation was invaluable." She complimented before giving a small nod "Thank you, for your assistance."

"Um... Thanks, I guess." Minato said awkwardly as he looked around

"Yeah, _you're_ the hero..." Junpei said as he approached the boy "Must feel good, right?"

"..." Minato said nothing as he looked at the capped boy. The jealousy in his voice was obvious... It looks like what Makoto said before was still bothering him

 _Hehe ... he ha ha ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA..!_ Makoto laughed within the boy's head _Go ahead, cry like a bitch... Maybe you'll finally do the world a favor and get yourself killed._

Minato simply blinked as Makoto's thoughts echoed through his mind "I'm just lucky."

"Luck? Pf, yeah right." Junpei rolled his eyes, he was annoyed... All courtesy of Makoto.

"Whoa, cool it!" Kotone said as she stood between them "We already took care of the shadow. No need for us to fight each other!"

"Each other? He's not one of us!" Junpei refuted in blind rage as he glared at the bluenette before looking back at the redhead again "Of course you'd defend him. Ever since you two came here you've been all buddy-buddy!"

"Iori, enough of this!" Mitsuru chastised the capped boy. While Junpei's maturity had been called into question, she didn't expect him to act _this_ childish.

"Tch, whatever..." Junpei said as he turned his back to everyone and walked away without another word

"He'll be back." Kotone said matter-of-factly, something that was proven when her Fool link strengthened despite everything "He just needs a few to calm down."

"What's up his butt?" Yukari wondered out loud as she and everyone else began to walk home as well... All except two.

"Hey..." Kotone called out as she looked down and slowly twisted her right ankle "... So um... Where um... Where do we..?"

"Nothing needs to change," Minato answered he didn't know how much she truly heard in the middle of all that... But he also didn't want it to change anything "Just... Keep it between us, please."

Kotone smiled weakly as she nodded "Alright..." She agreed as she felt her Death link strengthen again. If she was right and the links were mutual in the sense that the bond would have to strengthen both ways, then she knew that she was making progress with the boy.

"G'night, Makoto-kun," Kotone said farewell as she left to catch up with the others.

Minato looked off as she slowly began to fade from view "... Night." he whispered, but now he was left all alone.

Alone...

Alone...

...

...

No one else...

...

...

Nothing keeping Minato necessary anymore.

Abruptly, the boy hung his head and closed his eyes as his breathing suddenly slowed and could easily be mistaken for stopping as his knees slightly bent.

When the boy opened his eyes, they flared a bright yellow before reverting to a dim blue and then reverting to normal.

Makoto smirked as he slowly raised his head and looked at the building where Strega was still watching. Even if they wanted to kill him, they didn't have enough time during the Dark Hour to face him now.

They were too far too see well, but the boy could make out the images of them turning away and leaving to go to wherever it was that they decided to live for the time being.

"Minato..." And then there was one other matter.

Makoto turned to Pharos who had a puzzled look on his face "What just happened to you... Was it an act?"

Makoto chuckled as he shook his head, yet it was... different. There was no mild amusement or joy that Pharos could detect; he could only find it devoid of anything except a sense of regret and perhaps envy. "Little bro, I wish it was an act," he answered as he began to walk home. "What you saw, was... that was the ghost of a long-dead man—one that refuses to stay where he belongs."

"What do you mean? Who could—" Pharos asked to which Makoto only replied with a blank stare which made Pharos look down "... Oh."

"Let's just go to bed." Makoto said as he let out a yawn, "I'm going to have so much bullshit to deal with now."


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, I forgot... Um... this chapter, er... Remember when I said Makoto was supposed to be a baddie? Well, I noticed that people started liking him a lot at the time. Not like, "He's such a good villain" or anything like that, but rather, they were throwing their lot in with him and Pharos. 
> 
> So, this uh... This was a reminder of how immoral and far Makoto is willing to go to get what he wants. Did it stop people from rooting for him? No, and now, I think this scene (you'll know it when you see it) kinda comes outta left field. I should've just dealt with people loving him and accepting it. 
> 
> Oh, and I had been watching GoT at the time, so... yeah, fans will recognize a certain game he played.

_**Home** _

Makoto sat in what was quickly becoming his favorite chair, as per usual when he arrived home from the last operation. Unlike usual, Pharos was standing in front of him, expecting an explanation for his sudden change in behavior.

"By any chance do you remember Minato?" Makoto asked as he leaned back and closed his eyes. Usually, Pharos was the one who had to explain things to the boy, so he found this situation a little ironic.

"You mean... Your birth name?" Pharos asked which the boy nodded to. For as long as Pharos could remember being with him, he always said that the boy named Minato died with his family and soon adopted the name Makoto Yuki to cement that. Still, he allowed Pharos to continue calling him Minato, claiming that 'I can't be mad at you.'

"Well, there's a bit more to it," Makoto said as he sighed. "To put it simply: When he died, I came and inherited his broken shell..." He explained as he looked a bit agitated by the memories.

Even though he wasn't Minato, the memories of watching his family die still haunted him, for while he was vastly different from him, the two had the same foundation and shared a few traits. Unconditional love for their family and the pain that followed just so happened to be one of them.

"Not too long after that, you came along little guy." Makoto said as he opened his eyes and gazed at his ghostly friend "That's the story... The condense version, anyway."

Pharos looked down, no doubt needing a moment to take of that in. Makoto wasn't the original one that claimed ownership over the boy's body, but he's been the dominant one for the past ten years which was longer than how long Minato had even existed when he died... Was die even the right word anymore, especially taking what had just happened into account? Furthermore, that never would happen to Minato if...

"Don't know what brought him back, though.." Makoto said as he stared at his reflection from his window "Best guess: Coming back here... The place where it all happened... Must've been enough to make him show himself again."

"What do we do now?" Pharos asked him. There was no telling what Kotone had heard him mutter when his mind was unstable because of Lovers and he'd have to deal with SEES at some point if he truly wishes to accomplish his goal.

"Going to bed, and then..." Makoto smiled and his eyes flashed yellow for a moment as a plethora of sinister thoughts and emotions came to the boy "Well, you like scavenger hunts, don't ya? Get ready for one of those for the next few days."

* * *

**_One Week Later; Dorm_ **

Kotone leaned on her elbow at her desk as she continued looking up things on the web from her laptop. Lately, Makoto had been a bit more withdrawn than usual which was expected given what had happened the other day.

Whenever she tried to do anything, he always claimed he was busy and his words seemed genuine enough. After all, whenever he denied people in the past he always made it clear with a 'no' and might even get more vulgar than that after repeated attempts.

Lately, she had done some research and gained some amateur knowledge of some identity disorders, though she didn't expect to find an exact diagnosis for whatever Minato/Makoto had. What did she expect? She's just some high school student way over her head!

From what she had seen, they were almost complete opposites regarding their social interactions.

Makoto was... Well, he was Makoto. How she managed to get as much out of him as she did will forever remain a mystery to anyone and everyone.

Her time with Minato was limited (or was it?), but she'd seen enough to get a basic idea. Whereas Makoto got bored and charged off to kill Hierophant on their own, Minato was clearly more of a team player and even had Orpheus take a blow for Mitsuru who Makoto had done whatever he could to trouble her just for the hell of it.

Minato seemed to embrace people, but Makoto rejected almost everyone. Still, Makoto had shown a gentler side similar to Minato before... Or maybe that was Minato, who knew?

Still, despite their tones changing the overall voice was recognizable and still had the same persona. Like she had thought before, it was like they were two vastly different interpretations of the same person rather than them being a completely different person from the ground up.

Maybe... Maybe Makoto was his way to prevent ever being hurt again. After all, he's made it clear that his family especially is a massive soft spot for him so it wasn't unreasonable that he would've developed some sort of defense mechanism to avoid ever going through that sort of pain again.

Perhaps that's all Makoto was? A defense mechanism born from whatever happened all those years ago to the poor boy? Not to mention, his file identifies him as Makoto, so where did 'Minato' come from?

There were so many questions that had so few answers, and searching on the internet all day wasn't going to give her any answers at this rate.

Kotone sighed as she slouched in her chair and sighed "Guess I'm just going to have to keep trying..." She murmured. Considering Makoto's personality so far, he probably wasn't going to listen to any doctors so she's going to have to help him the old fashion way.

It couldn't be all that bad, could it? He's dropped his cruel facade around her multiple times in the past, and if Makoto was just an extremely effective defense, then helping Makoto should also help Minato and vice versa. It was like helping the same person, she just had to deal with him showing two entirely different sides of himself. It probably wasn't going to be easy, but it should doable.

After all, he may have been rude, but it's not like he was dangerous, right?

* * *

**_?_ **

"Wakey, wakey..." Makoto said as he poured a bucket of water on a boy that had been strapped to a chair with duct tape "No eggs and bakey."

The boy let out an "Nrgh..." as he lifted his head and looked around in a panic "W-Who are you?! Where the hell am I?!"

"Hell." Makoto answered dryly as he began to circle the boy "As far as you're concerned, this is hell and I'm dear old Satan himself."

"Wha-..?" The boy was understandably confused as he did his best to keep his eyes on his assailant before looking up and screaming "Somebody help! Help!"

"Wow, you're actually-" Makoto was cut off when the boy screamed for someone, anyone to hear his voice and help him

"Someone help!" Makoto screamed as he fell on his knees and looked up "Help! I'm about to torture and quite possibly kill a man! Someone come take me away!" He pleaded as he threw his arms into the air for a moment before pausing

"Hear that?" Makoto asked as he put one arm down and put his other hand to his ear "Let's try it again."

"Help!" Makoto screamed as he walked back behind the terrified boy "Go on, scream! Beg for someone to save you!"

"H-Hep!" The boy pleaded again as loud as he could as his voice began to slur from his tears

"Come on!" Makoto said as he shook the chair the boy was strapped to "SCREAM LIKE YOU MEAN IT!"

"SOMEONE PLEASE!" The boy screamed as loud as he could but only received silence that was only broken by his assailant's soft chuckles

"Hear that?" Makoto asked as he leaned forward and whispered into the boy's ear " _Nothing._ No one's coming to save you."

Makoto donned a sinister smile as he slowly crept until he was in front of the boy again

"Like I said before..." Makoto said as he placed one of his hands on each of the boy's arms that were strapped to the arms of the chair "You're locked here in the dark depths of hell with me. And I'm something far worse than any Devil..."

Makoto leaned in closer until he was face-to-face with the terrified boy before his eyes became a bright yellow "I'm Death himself, and I've just found a new playmate."

The bluenette chuckled as he took a few steps back, the darkness of the room completely shrouded him except for his glowing yellows eyes that faded away in the literal blink of an eye.

The sound of soft chuckling and footsteps could be heard, once again circling the boy who was still rendered defenseless.

"So, how about a little game to start us off?" Makoto asked, his voice now a bit lower and huskier like when he disguised himself but also a bit more ravenous to sound more deranged to boot. He'd always found that people always seemed to be more terrified of lunatics and such, so he did his best to sound and act more insane during these sorts of confrontations.

"Alright..." Makoto stopped in front of the boy again as he took a step forward to reveal himself and his knife "I want you to tell me who I am, where you are, and why I'm doing this to you." he walked closer and tapped the boys finders with the spine of his blade "If you're wrong, I'm going to hurt you... That simple."

"Now..!" Makoto took a step back "Let us begin: Where are you?"

"U-Uh... Err..." The boy looked around. The room he was in was dark and was only illuminated slightly by a few candles that had been set up around him, and the room was also rather cold despite it being the middle of July. Other than that, there was nothing to go on.

"Uh..." The boy's mind started to panic as he kept drawing blanks

"Did I mention I might kill you if you say nothing?" Makoto asked casually, he'd heard that saying _might_ and leaving it up to possibility made people more fearful and frantic than if said with certainty "Clock's ticking."

"P-Port Island!" The boy screamed the first place that came to mind which was the name of where Iwatodai, the school and such were located

"Hmm... Too vague." Makoto replied; that could've meant too many places

"Uh... B-By Paulownia mall?" The boy guessed as he silently prayed

"Hmm... Not bad.." Makoto congratulated "But a little more, please."

"Uh... By that place that sells the uniforms to Gekko high..." The boy tried to give more details "I-I don't remember the name of t, but..'

Makoto narrowed his eyes "Did you wake up before coming here?" he asked

The boy shook his head "N-No! I swear it's a guess!" The boy begged for him to believe him which seemed to bear fruit

"Alright, who am I?" Makoto asked as he tapped his foot "Other than the guy who kidnapped you. How'd I do that? Let's just say the _timing_ was important."

"U-Uh... You're um..." The boy searched his brain. He could've sworn that he'd seen this boy before, but he was drawing a blank. All he could do was shout the name that felt the most right "Yama Norumi!"

Makoto chuckled "Nope..." He said as he was raised his knife before pausing "You know what? If you get the next one right, you'll get a pass." He gave the boy a small ray of hope as he asked: "So, why am I doing this?"

"You.. you're..." The boy gulped, there were a lot of people who probably wanted to hurt him but he never expected anything like... this. "M-Me and my buddies must've tried to hurt you at some point... And this is payback, right?"

Makoto chuckled again as he took a step forward as he bit his lip "Not bad, just one thing..."

He leaned forward, still having that unsettling smirk on his face as he whispered into the boy's ear "You forgot to ask if I'm a liar."

Suddenly, Makoto jabbed his knife straight into the boy's hand which made the young man scream in pain

"You're in one of Iwatodai's abandoned buildings, not too far from the station. My name is Makoto Yuki, and you're one of the punks that I had to deal with when some retards decided to go and ask some questions..." He explained as he twisted the knife that was still in the punk's hand "... Not long after, I have a hit out on me from those assholes that run that revenge website that's been going around. So.."

Makoto pulled his knife as hard as he could with his nigh-inhuman strength and effectively divided the punk's hand in half "Who ordered the damn hit..."

The punk was too busy screaming from the pain of his hand, feeling it becoming divided into two that he couldn't even answer the question.

Makoto grabbed him by the throat "I said: _Who_ dammit!"

"I don't know!" The punk the screamed as he shook his head and tears started falling like a river

"Grgh.." Makoto grunted as he grabbed one of the candles and brought it up to his knife "Give me something to go on..."

"I don't know, I don't know..!" The punk kept repeating over and over "I swear I don't know anything!"

"Right~..." Makoto sighed as he continued to remain silent for several minutes before approaching the punk again "You know, I think I'm a bit of a pyro. It's a little ironic because I watched my family burn, and on my seventh birthday too." he said before looking down and into the punk's terrified eyes

"I wouldn't look down..." Makoto said as he brought his knife to the punk's throat, the heat radiating off the blade made him look up as to avoid physical contact.

But, as soon as he looked up, Makoto took the opportunity to quickly pour some of the candle wax into the punk's right eye which made him scream in agony as the damage probably half-blinded him for life

"Who?" Makoto repeated his question, but he only received more screams in return

He sighed "Dammit..." he muttered annoyed as he crouched down.

He took the liberty of rendering him barefoot before and strapped his legs and ankles just like his hands, so all Makoto had to do was place his heated blade against the arch of his foot and the boy was put into even more agonizing pain as the smell of burning flesh filled the air

"Who?!" Makoto screamed his previous question again

"I don't know!" The punk screamed again which made Makoto curse in frustration as he stood back up

"Goddammit!" Makoto cursed as he kicked the punk hard in the chest which caused the chair to topple over.

Makoto stood over the crying punk and placed his foot against his throat "Give me something, you worthless piece of shit. Pale guy, Gothic chick, and bluenette with glasses!"

"I... I don't know.." The punk whimpered which caused Makoto to increase the pressure on his throat before he shouted "All I know is that they make deals with Shinjiro! Sometimes they exchange money for some pills or something, that's all I know I swear!"

"Hmm..." Makoto chuckled as he removed his foot from the punk's throat "Well, god damn. That _is_ something new."

"That's all I know, that's all I know, that's all I know..." The punk kept repeating in whimpers as he cried from the torture he endured

"Shh, shh..." Makoto whispered as he walked away for a moment "It's alright..." he assured as he tightly clutched a hammer that he had set aside

"I believe you," Makoto said as his eyes once again glowed a bright yellow

* * *

_**Port Island Station; Back alley** _

Makoto kept his hands in his pockets and his head down as he walked through the same place that he'd been to about a month before now.

As soon as he arrived at the place that he'd hurt so many of the punk's friends, they all scattered as to not be in that scenario again. They may have talked big, but none of them ever had the guts to do anything when the time came.

Of course, there was one tall beanie-wearing boy that still core a peacoat despite the warm weather.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Shinjiro asked the way his head was tilted down made it difficult to see his eyes

"Right back at ya." Makoto shot back as he approached the boy "Shinjiro right?"

"What do you want?" Shinjiro asked wanting to get to the point as soon as possible "You shouldn't be here."

"Pale guy, gothic chick, bluenette with glasses..." Makoto relayed the descriptions of those that had tried to kill him "They tried to kill me, which means someone tried to put a hit out on me. I want to know who."

"Think I know?" Shinjiro asked, though, there was a faint of concern in his eyes as soon as the word 'kill' came into the conversation.

"I think you're the only lead I have since you make deals with them, am I wrong?" Makoto asked as he narrowed his eyes and took note of every movement and expression the taller boy made

Shinjiro kept a serious look on his face with his eyes seemed cast to the side as to seem disinterested and uncaring, but someone as truly apathetic as Makoto could easily tell the difference between him and Shinjiro was only pretending to not care.

"I can't get them to stop goin' after you if that's what you're thinking." Shinjiro said as he stood up, even while hunched over he made Makoto look like he was child-like in comparison "You want my advice? Try talkin' to Mitsuru, I doubt she'll complain."

"So does this mean your relationship with Strega is purely business?" Makoto asked as he saw the taller boy look uneasy for a moment "You buy drugs off them, right? But you don't look stupid enough to be buying just any street crap, so what're-"

"I told you what I could now go," Shinjiro demanded as he looked into the bluenette's eyes. Whatever emotions Makoto was feeling, he was certainly good at hiding it as his face was completely devoid of any emotion.

"Hmph." As annoying as it was, he didn't look like he was lying. It seemed like this whole trip was a complete waste of time after all

"Go shove your head back in your ass," Makoto said before walking away as his eyes briefly glowed a dim blue from his frustration.

* * *

_**Home** _

"Dammit," Makoto muttered as soon as he got home. A week of searching for something and his only decent lead was worthless. Shinjiro was friends with Akihiko so it wasn't like he could just do what he did to that punk.

What was he supposed to do now? Strega didn't seem to know where he lived, but there was still the issue of them wanting to kill them and just who sent them?

Sure, he didn't have a lot of friends but he hadn't done anything that warranted a death sentence. There's also the matter of just where Strega even came from, to begin with!

Sure, there were other persona users out there, that much is certain. The questioned lies in the fact that Chidori and Jin used Evokers much like SEES did as well, but why? Why did they have those, to begin with, especially since SEES didn't seem to know anything about them?

Just what the hell did this all mean? If only he had something to go on...

Suddenly, Makoto's phone began to vibrate in his pocket

"Huh?" Makoto pulled out his phone and answered "Hello?"

"Miss me?" And there was the one girl he gave his number to

"What is it, Kotone?" Makoto asked as he sat on his sofa in front of the TV that was broadcasting about a boy who had been left tortured, dead, and then abandoned near the Iwatodai station.

"First, important question: Do you have any summer plans?" She asked a question that seemed more trivial than anything

Makoto let out a "Huh.." as he remembered that summer break was approaching, something he had completely forgotten about until today "No, not really. Why?"

Kotone giggled from the other end of the phone "Then you're in luck because I just got you into a vacation to Yakushima!" she announced loudly which forced the bluenette to put some space between his ear and the phone

"And you can afford this... How?" He asked, he may not have been a vacation person but even he knew that a trip like that would be costly

"Mitsuru-senpai is covering the whole thing!" She answered the only way she could sound more excited is if she was there jumping up and down...

... Was she jumping up and down?

"Alright, and you managed to convince her to take me... how again?" Even after Minato's _takeover_ during the last operation, he wasn't exactly liked by SEES; He was merely tolerated as they held on to the thought that despite everything, he wasn't all bad.

Kotone giggled some more and Makoto just knew that she was grinning on the other end "It went like this..."

* * *

_**Earlier(?)** _

Everyone gathered at the table that was usually reserved for dining purposes. Just a few moments ago, Ikutsuki had suggested the idea of taking everyone to the Kirijo vacation home in Yakushima which everyone agreed to.

However, there was only one thought about the redhead with a heart of pure gold!

"What about Makoto-kun?!" She cried out to everyone in a voice so innocent that angels from the heavens cried

"You're right..." Mitsuru agreed as she too began to cry "We must include him!"

"Yeah, he's so~ cool!" Yukari cooed as she made a dreamy face like a stereotypical high school girl fantasizing over some boy

"He's not so bad..." Akihiko said as he looked down, currently wishing that he was as cool as that weird bluenette

"Yeah, I feel super bad for snapping on him the other day.." Junpei said as he fell to the floor in prostration from his shame

Ikutsuki, who was watching the events unfold sniffled as he wiped a tear from his eye "So beautiful..." Was the only way he could describe the scene

Truly, it was something so amazing that it should be forever remembered in human history.

* * *

_**Present** _

Makoto blinked as Kotone relayed the entire story to him "... Is that really what happened?" He asked rhetorically

"As far as you're concerned it is!" She shot back from the other end "Oh, and _maybe_ it's where Mitsuru's father will be and we'll get to ask about the Dark Hour."

And just like that, Makoto's interest was piqued "Hmm... when is it?" He asked as he looked at the calendar he had on the wall

"After exams, we'll be leaving on the twentieth," Kotone answered as she listed a few more details such as the length and such.

"Well..." Makoto thought to himself. It _would_ give him a break from having to look out for Strega, but it'd also disrupt any time he had searching for any information on them.

Then again, this was where Mitsuru's father would be. If nothing else, he might even get some answers as to what happened ten years ago and maybe even a few names for his list.

"... Yeah, I can go." Makoto agreed which caused him to hear a cheer from the other side

"Yippee!" Kotone yelled in glee, she must've been excited at the prospect of getting someone as anti-social as Makoto in an actual social area for more than a few short hours.

"Uh-huh, so thanks for that," Makoto said as he sighed, it was at moments like this he wondered if she got all of her energy by draining _his_ somehow.

"That's it? Just a thank you?!" Kotone yelled from the other end "I'm giving you the chance to see Mitsuru-senpai and Yukari-chan - the two most desired girls in school- in swimsuits! You're about to live every boy's dream!"

"Eh, I don't really care to be honest." Makoto dismissed the idea. While he wasn't asexual, he just never considered girls to be important nor did he ever find any reason to pursue any relationships since they probably wouldn't even last.

"W-Wha- H-How...?" Suddenly, a thought occurred in Kotone's mind that just made her feel awkward "Wait... um... Are you... uh..."

"Into dicks? No, I just don't care." Makoto answered bluntly

"Er... Well, that's one way to put it." Kotone said which made her realize how awkward she had just made anything "See you on the twentieth?"

"See you then," Makoto said as he hung up and put his phone away.

"Pharos..." Makoto looked back at his little friend who had a smile on his face "This is clearly the best month ever for you."

"I wonder what their choices will be..." Pharos thought out loud, the multiple choices and variations going through his mind. Who was using a one-piece and who was using a two-piece... What if they all went with two-pieces?!

Makoto chuckled as he sat back down and started flipping through the channels. "You're too much as times."

So now, he was stuck going on a vacation at Yakushima after exams. There he might be able to learn about what happened ten years ago, and maybe even add a few names to widen his search.

What's the worse that could happen, right?


	19. Chapter 19

_**?** _

"AWESOME"! Junpei screamed loudly as he stood on the edge of the boat as soon as the beach came into sight. Over and over he began to chant the name "Yakushima" like a mantra making it pretty clear that he was the most excited person to be there.

"Can it already..." Makoto muttered, Junpei's voice was so loud that the bluenette could even hear him while listening to his earphones on full blast. If he was screaming _that_ loud, how did he even still have a voice?

"It's not that bad..." Pharos said as he sat on the rail guard, the threat of falling off and drowning not applying to him "... Aren't you excited at all? You haven't been to a beach in years, correct?"

"Doesn't really matter to me," Makoto replied with a sigh as he leaned against one of the walls of the cabin he was in. His current foster family liked to go on vacations every now and then, but Makoto always refused seeing how he personally cared little about them... His family died a long time ago.

His foster parents weren't even bad people by any means, they were actually one of the few that he could say cared about him in their own unique way. Just after years of trying and him constantly refusing, they just gave up trying to include them. They did still care enough to provide him with an apartment and such for the year, so they clearly still had some care left for him.

Whatever the case, it was unlikely they were going to notice that he was gone. Even if they did, they weren't going to say much since he was basically allowed to do what he wants at this point (provided he avoids trouble, of course).

Makoto sighed as he looked down into the ocean blue. He hadn't been to a beach since he was six...

_"H-Hey! Don't drag me down!"_

_"I-I'm sorry! I can't... Minato, help me!"_

* * *

**_Sometime later_ **

"Greetings." Two women bowed at the sight of Mitsuru as soon as she and the others walked in.

"Dude~" Junpei was clearly awestruck by what he was seeing before his virgin eyes "Real life maids."

"Creepy as fuck..." Makoto muttered, genuinely creeped out by Junpei's apparent maid fetish. Not even Pharos was obsessed with maids (well, any more than normal girls) and that was saying quite a lot given the ghostly boy's history.

"And you are her guests, correct?" One of them asked the rest before bowing "Welcome."

"Wow..." The junior members of SEES seemed to be in awe of... EVERYTHING here.

"This is... This is the right place?" Yukari asked almost sounding like she was in denial

"I knew she came from an important family, but..." Fuuka rubbed her eyes as she took everything in

"This... Is... Amazing..." Naturally, Kotone had almost the complete opposite reaction of whatever Makoto had.

From the door in front of them, approached an older looking man who also seemed to be wearing an eye patch for whatever reason. He was dressed like a businessman and had a serious look on his face despite being in a _vacation_ home.

The man stopped briefly to look at all of them and Makoto stared back as he dug his nails into his palms.

No one had to say anything. He already knew who he was, and now he had to fight to control himself.

Makoto felt the rage boiling inside him more and more. He could just summon Thanatos and have them all killed in seconds...

In front of him was the head of the Kirijo group. He HAD to have been involved somehow with what happened to him and Pharos years ago.

He could tear everyone here to pieces and decorate their walls with their entrails. He could massacre them and paint their walls scarlet. He could kill Mitsuru first and make Takeharu experience the same feeling of loss and hopelessness he experienced as everything was taken away from him.

It wouldn't be hard or long. He just had to...

"Please, calm down, Minato..." Pharos pleaded as he grabbed the boy's hand which caused Makoto's burning hot ire to suddenly cool "Now's not the time."

Makoto inhaled sharply as Mitsuru faced the man "It's good to see you."

Without saying a word, the man grunted and left to his own devices.

"Takeharu Kirijo, I take it?" Makoto asked as he eyes his senior

Not seeing any reason to lie, Mitsuru nodded "Yes."

Mitsuru stood in front of everyone "We won't be here long, but please enjoy yourselves."

"Sweet!" Junpei jumped in the air with an excited looking grin on his face "I'm not going to waste a single minute!"

Knowing what he meant, Makoto tilted his head "We _just_ arrived and you want to go to the beach?"

"I mean, sure but let me put my swimsuit on." Yukari seemed to be in agreement with Junpei for the first time ever

This was followed up by just about everyone else agreeing, effectively making Makoto the odd one out as usual.

"Suit yourselves," Makoto said as he rolled his eyes while crossing his arms

"Oh, no, no, no!" Kotone shouted as she grabbed the boy by the collar and brought him down so that they were eye-level with each other "I got you in here so that you could enjoy the vacation with us! You are going to get your ass in your swimsuit and go to the beach with us."

Makoto pretended to mull over that before saying "How about... No?"

"How about... You don't have a choice?" Kotone said as her eyes seem to light like fire as she glared into the boy's eyes

Pharos made an innocent face before taking the opportunity to look up Kotone's skirt.

"Even during the summer, she wears shorts?" Pharos complained loudly, though only Makoto could hear his voice "Hmm... Maybe the beach could be my chance..?"

 _Goddammit, you little perv..._ Makoto thought mentally before groaning "Let the record show that I'm doing this for me. Understood?"

Kotone smiled as she let the boy go "Whatever you say, Makoto-kun."

* * *

_**Beach** _

Makoto sighed as he stood by the beach with the male SEES members, never in his life would he have thought that he'd be forced into this situation. Right now, he was forced to wait for the girls all in order to see them in their swimsuits. As for them, Junpei was wearing standard trunks, Akihiko was wearing... Well, it was a good thing he also wore a shirt, and Makoto dressed in standard blue trunks with a white T-shirt.

"Bloody hell." He cursed while Junpei went on about how great the beach is and how hot the 'beach babes' are. Did it never end with him?

Maybe it was just one of those many things that he lost his ability to understand ages ago?

Usually, anyone else his age would be jumping for joy, right? But Makoto just never felt... anything. Actually, this wasn't correct either, he _felt_ something in the sense that he felt attracted to those of the opposite gender, he just lacked the will to indulge his hormones.

Then again, it'd make sense that he was missing something, for he was nothing more than an incomplete whole.

_"Minato!"_

"Hey!" Kotone greeted as she and Yukari walked to the boy, thus snapping Makoto out of his daze

"And here~ come the contestants!" Junpei said with his typical Junpei grin on his face "Ooh, look at our leader. Showing off all those curves she normally keeps hidden."

"Huh?" Kotone blinked as she looked down and her brain finally processed what he meant. Her choice of attire for the beach was a pink ribbon bikini while Yukari had decided to wear a two-piece swim suit with a blue bottom and pink top.

Kotone sighed "I'll just take the compliment." She dismissed the perversion. She knew this would happen the day she approved on going on the trip with everyone in the first place, so she couldn't exactly say this was unexpected.

"Is that umbrella taken?" Fuuka asked as she approached the rest of them. Surprisingly enough, Fuuka decided to wear a two-piece as well this was green in color.

Junpei blushed as he looked at Fuuka "Wow, Fuuka, I had no idea you were-" He was silent when Makoto hit the back of his head

"That's enough," Makoto said as he shook his head. Perversion was annoying enough, to begin with, but it was topped off with the fact he didn't have his earphones to block it out _and_ it was one of the two members of SEES he could tolerate.

"Ow! Dude, you hit hard" Junpei complained as he rubbed the part of his head that was quickly forming a bruise

"In case you've forgotten, we're still not even..." Makoto said as he gave Junpei what could only be described as a one-eyed death glare "... Or did you just happen to forget exploding on me back at the hotel _after_ I went through _two_ mental assaults?"

Junpei's smile instantly died down into a contrite expression "Yeah... Been meaning to talk about-"

"Save it. Your words mean jack shit to me." Makoto said as he turned his back to the capped boy "I'll let you know when we're even."

"W-Wow..." Makoto turned to his little plus one and found him staring at Mitsuru who came in an elegant white swimsuit and had an equally svelte figure.

Pharos looked like he was in a complete daze before falling on his back and into the sand, it seemed like it was too much for the poor boy. Makoto didn't even have to say anything, he could tell just by looking at him that the boy was seeing stars... At least, he hoped it was just stars.

After a few moments, most of SEES decided to do the natural thing and play in the water. The juniors were playing together and splashing each other, Akihiko was determined to find a way to use this as training somehow, and Mitsuru merely sat by an umbrella and relaxed.

Makoto wordlessly approached the female senior who took notice of his presence "Something you need, Yuki?"

"Why'd you bring me here?" Makoto decided to get straight to the point "Last I checked, we're not friends or teammates."

"Shiomi was insistent that you'd come." Mitsuru answered as she sat up straight "In truth: My father was one of the few that survived the incident at the lab ten years ago, and though you're not a member, she was adamant that you deserved to know the truth behind what happened."

Mitsuru sighed as she looked down "Also... This is something I was considering myself. Both as a thank you and an apology."

"Huh?" Makoto tilted his head to the side as an unconscious habit of his "For what and what?"

"I am not ungrateful for helping us during our last operation, even going so far as to save me from taking what would've most certainly been a critical injury." Mitsuru explained before suddenly looking melancholy "And you were right, my hiding of my family's sins was shameful of me and it was even more so to ask you to join without revealing it."

Mitsuru regained her normal pensive demeanor as she looked back at the bluenette "I won't ask you to reconsider your decision. Merely, I hope you can forgive me for my mendacious actions."

"Hmm." Makoto looked her up and down (as did Pharos for a completely different reason) and her words seemed genuine this time. She probably wanted to atone for everything her family had done... But none of it matters, not truly.

She had her father, she had her wealth, she had her reputation, she had everything... And he had nothing. Everything had been stolen from him because of her and her family's actions. Whether she herself was innocent or not was irrelevant, so were they.

But, retribution could wait.

"We'll see," Makoto said before walking off, now being completely alone. The whole time Mitsuru relaxed and occasionally talked with Akihiko, the juniors played in the water like the minors they were. Almost as if they were one big family...

...

...

Another reminder of everything he lost so long ago. Quite fitting that all of this took place on a beach, the perfect place to both figuratively and literally rub salt in the wounds that may never heal.

As Makoto wandered the beach alone, he felt something. It was a similar sensation to what he felt whenever he was around an Evoker or Mitsuru's bike. More specifically, he was feeling the sensation he felt whenever he was around a Plume of Dusk.

However, just as quickly as it came, the feeling was suddenly gone.

The boy narrowed his eyes as he looked at the woods that the sensation came from "Strange, huh?" He asked his friend, only to find silence was his only reply "Pharos?"

Makoto turned his head and saw Pharos absolutely distracted by pretty much every girl on the beach. It was as if all of his systems were completely fried and then rewired to focus merely on those with two X's in their chromosomes.

 _"Goddammit, you little perv..."_ Makoto mentally repeated his earlier statement for walking off again.

...

...

Makoto sat alone at the dock with his head hung low. Pure sadism is what this trip was, nothing more than pure sadistic torture disguised as a nice getaway.

He looked down at the reflection in the water and he saw a monster. He knew what he was, he knew that he'd committed atrocities in the past, he knew that what he does and what he wants his wrong... He just can't help it.

But worst of all, he was a failure. Not for not achieving his goal, or because he does terrible in school, or any of that... It's because he knew that everyone he still grieved for only desired for him to be happy; To make something of their loss rather than let it destroy him.

And in that regard, he was the greatest failure in a child that any parent could ask for.

"Hey." A familiar voice came from behind him

"I was wondering when you'd show up." Makoto(?) said as he continued to look down. His tone was different, but not quite the same as Minato's either. Maybe these were the thoughts/actions of both of them at the same time

The redheaded girl walked up and sat next to the bluenette "Can't help but notice you've been completely dry this entire trip. What did I-" Suddenly, a thought came to mind "Wait, can you swim?! I can teach you if you-"

"I know how to swim." Minato/Makoto cut her off as he sighed "Must be nice."

"Yeah~, it's _real_ nice..." She said as she gently nudged him "Maybe you should-"

"That's not what I meant." He cut her off again, his tone still remaining consistent. It was just like that one time when they went out to eat, he didn't sound like Makoto nor Minato, he just sounded... lost

"Then, what do you mean?" Kotone asked, this time feeling concerned. Last time he sounded like this, it was after she'd accidentally put him through what must've been excruciating emotional torture and he was forced to leave because of it.

"Having somewhere you belong." He answered his voice having a much more somber tone than usual, but why?

"C'mon, don't talk like that..." She asked as she nudged him again "Besides, there's still a place here for you if you want it."

Minato/Makoto shook his head "It wouldn't be right, trust me." he warned as he slightly tilted his head so that his left eye could see her "... You're a good person. I'm not joking; you've been good to me despite everything. So, uh... thanks, I guess."

Her face changed to a faint scarlet as she giggled "Aw, shucks. Aren't you a charmer?"

"I mean it." He said, never dropping his serious tone "... You shouldn't be wasting your time with someone like me. Go focus on having fun with your friends."

She scooted a little closer "Why do you think I'm here?" She asked, "You _are_ one of my friends, dummy."

"..." He simply kept silent as he continued to look down at his reflection. It wasn't every day that someone said something like that to him, but she didn't know what she was saying, at least not in regards to him.

Kotone leaned a bit closer to study his face (which wasn't easy given half his face was cover) and saw that the normally blank face of his seemed to be going through various emotions at once. He seemed lost, confused, scared, frustrated, grateful, and much more all at once.

Then, a cold breezed decided to occur which made the girl shiver. Normally, the breeze wouldn't be a problem since she'd be off with the others or have the sun on her back, but now she was sitting here in the shade with a guy that...

... Come to think of it, there was one way to solve this.

Kotone scooted close enough that their thighs touched and forced the boy's left arm around her.

Minato/Makoto titled his head "Uh... What the hell?"

"I'm cold." She answered as she held onto him "If you're not going to go into the water which is the _main reason I even brought you here_ , then I'm allowed this."

"And the others?" He asked doubting that any of her friends would bother to ask for context

"Pf, please, look around; We blend right in." She retorted easily. Being a beach, there were, of course, a lot of couples scattered around that made the two of them easy to gloss over

The boy chuckled softly "If there are any rumors, I'm going to make the most of them."

"That's fair."

...

...

...

Everyone has gathered around in what seemed to be a sort of lounge in the Kirijo vacation home. Makoto and the members of SEES sat on the sofas to the sides while Takeharu sat in the one int the middle all by himself. Supposedly, he was about to reveal what really happened ten years ago on the day that Makoto will never forget.

"From what I understand, you've already been given the condensed version." Takeharu began, his voice sounding very business-like but also holding some sort of shame

"You mean how the Kirijo's caused this?" Makoto asked as he leaned back "Yeah, you're welcome for that."

Takeharu raised an eyebrow "I'm very curious by what means you learned about that..."

"And I'm curious about what you have to tell us." The bluenette shot back, not wanting to waste any more time tormenting him or Mitsuru. If his list was going to get larger, then he should take this as seriously as he could

"What you heard is true, we adults are to blame. If I could've atoned with my life, I would've." Takeharu said which made Makoto fight his eyes that were seeking to glow as a response to his emotional state

 _"Oh, sure you would've. We'll see about that, won't we?"_ Makoto thought as he dug his nails into his palms again. He just had to keep himself under control for just a bit longer

"What my father sought to created with the shadows was a time manipulation device," Takeharu explained, no doubt referring to a shadow's ability to somehow manipulate time and space.

"Your father was a moron," Makoto said, not being able to restrain himself.

"Can you imagine it?" Takeharu asked, trying to pique the boy's interest "The ability to stop disasters _before_ they occur?"

 _"And rely on some of the very things that killed my..."_ Makoto bit his lip "And the ethics? Should we have prevented the Holocaust? Nine-eleven? Various plagues and genocides that'd cause and prevent certain people from being born and permanently altering history and quite possibly even trapping us in a paradox?"

"Regardless of the ethical questions, that is what happened," Takeharu replied. It didn't go unnoticed by him that the boy seemed to be taking this rather personally for some reason. However, such things were understandable; Everyone here was a victim of what his family had done, it was only right that he was angry.

"I came here today, to show you the only existing footage of the accident," Takeharu announced as the room darkened and a projector started playing

"I can only pray that this recording reaches safe hands..." The scientist recording the footage said. The footage itself was of terrible quality, with plentiful amounts of static and certain sounds being out of sync with what was occurring in the video itself

"My employers have become obsessed with a terrible idea, and I'm afraid what I've done will result in an unprecedented disaster." The scientist condemned his actions "But if I hadn't the entire world would be at risk."

"The entire world?" Fuuka repeated as Makoto nearly jumped out of his skin

He didn't even need to ask or wonder, he knew just what this man was talking about. Something that only he and Pharos knew about, albeit to a limited extent due to the latter's amnesia.

There was only one thing that they could think of that related to Pharos and that incident that could involve the entire world.

"The explosion here will cause the shadows that have been amassed here to scatter." The scientist warned, "To end this nightmare, you must eliminate all of them!"

The scientist's voice suddenly seemed downcast despite his expression remaining roughly the same, "I am the one to blame for this. I was blinded by the promise of success... It's all my fault."

Yukari stood from her seat with a shocked face "Dad..?" She called out

 _"Hmm?"_ The easily caught Makoto's attention as the video ended

"Strange." Makoto's attention snapped to Pharos who was tilting his head in confusion "I remember him... But I don't remember him saying any of this."

"Yes, Eiichiro Takeba was the head researcher. But we are the ones that pushed him, and to blame for his death." Takeharu said as he lowered his head, ashamed of the actions his family had taken.

"So... Tartarus, The Dark Hour, everything..." Yukari sounded like she was on the verge of tears "... My dad caused it all?"

Yukari had her back turned, but the bulk of her anger was no-doubt directed at Mitsuru "That why you kept this hidden?! Because you felt _sorry_ for me?"

Mitsuru looked at surprised as anyone, but Yukari's emotional state made it so she couldn't see that "No, Takeba, I-"

"I don't need your pity!" She screamed before bolting out the door

"Go get her," Makoto said as he turned to Kotone

"Huh? Me?" She asked surprised. While she was definitely friends with Yukari, she couldn't exactly say she knew what it was like to be emotionally devastated nor even what to say despite her abilities being fueled by the literal power of friendship.

"You're her friend." Makoto said as he stood up "Go be there for her." he answered before walking off.

No one tried to stop him, they were all recovering from the shock. Actually, all except one person...

Where the hell was Ikutsuki?

...

...

"Hehe..." Ikutsuki laughed to himself as he stood alone in his private room "I can't believe that worked."

The old man sat in his chair with a smile on his face "No doubt even Makoto is buying it. That boy may be smart, but he's still merely a child." He bragged to himself "With that extra piece of motivation, they'll no doubt be eager to 'correct' his mistake."

Ikutsuki chuckled again "Just a few more months, and it will all begin. And all it took was one edited video and some false hopes."

"And _saved~"_ A voice sang which made Ikutsuki's blood turn cold.

The old man looked towards the entrance to his room and saw a familiar bluenette with a cellphone in his hands

"Man, I wonder what everyone would think if they saw this..." Makoto teased with a smile on his face "My, how scandalous."

Ikutsuki was about to act but was stopped by a few words by Makoto

"Uh-uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you..." He warned as he put his phone in his pocket "Shoot me, everyone will be here in a heartbeat so you won't even have time to delete that off my phone. Not to mention, what're you even going to say? That I attack you? They know I'm not an idiot like you... Not to mention, I heal."

Ikutsuki stood up straight with beads of sweat forming on his brow "Then... What do you intend to do?"

"Hehe.." Makoto chuckled "To put it in terms even a brain-dead retarded neanderthal brain like you can understand: You're. My. Little. **_Bitch._** " he taunted as he casually leaned against the doorway "If you want your... Whatever to be accomplished, then there are things I need you to do."

"A-And those are?" Ikutsuki asked nervously, never would he have thought that he'd be blackmailed by a boy who hadn't even graduated yet

Makoto stood up straight and his expression went stern "There's another group of persona users named Strega and they want me dead. They had Evokers too, meaning they have some sort of connection to Kirijo. Your job as my lackey is to find out what you can about them. Understand, vermin?"

Ikutsuki gulped, clearly showing extreme amounts of nervousness "U-Understood."

Makoto smiled in satisfaction as he took a step back "Good. See you later, my little bitch." he said his derogatory farewell before leaving.

As he walked to his room, he just so happened to bump into the same person who had completely broken down not too long ago.

"You're back," Makoto said as he looked at the shorter girl

"Yeah.." Yukari said, her voice was weak and devoid of most emotion

"And you've put your mask on." He said as he narrowed his eyes, he was either angry, frustrated, or disappointed

"My... What?" Yukari asked, not understanding what he meant. She had just suffered a breakdown, and now this?

"You know what I mean. You're putting on a face that says you're okay in order to get everyone to leave you alone, pretty effective I must say." He continued, he didn't just know what the mask was like; He was the one who perfected it "Tell me, how's it feel to be the biggest disappointment of a daughter I've ever laid eyes on? It honestly hurts."

"Y-You... You son of a-" Yukari lunged at the boy, but he easily sidestepped which caused her to almost trip from her momentum "What the hell do you think gives you the right to say that?!"

"The fact you believe a video; An object, over the person who helped raised your scrawny ass." Makoto replied which quelled the girl's anger almost instantly "Tell me, what did he do? Did he make the monsters go away? Did he always make tuck you in at night? Did he read you a story every night when you go to bed." He honestly didn't care for the girl much, but this was something more... This was something personal to him as well

"What..?" Yukari asked confused, she couldn't tell if he was insulting her or trying to help her

"If you loved him, then you'd keep believing him. On top of that, I bet all he wanted was for you to be happy right? It's what every parent wants. But by all means, go ahead and let yourself fall into a pit of despair." He said before turning his back on the girl "I already failed my family... You decide if you want to fail yours."

And with that, Makoto marched off to his room without saying a word to anyone.

The moment he reached the guest room he'd be spending this vacation in, he collapsed onto the bed. The bed itself was very comfortable, definitely an upgrade from what he had to deal with at that apartment he was living in.

"So, what do we do about her?" Pharos asked as he sat next to the boy "Do we add her to the list?"

"Question mark." Makoto replied "Put a question mark next to her name. Until we know what really happened, she can live."

Pharos looked around awkwardly for a moment "You do remember we don't have an actual-"

"Of course I do!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said this took cues from Bloodlust, well... there's this. More specifically, Ikutsuki. It's this that also leads to something the fic as a whole suffers from—overbooking. I used to just think things and then throw them in without any idea what to do with them later. What I needed was someone to tell me no. Of course, around this time, I did, but I was too stubborn, which also lead to... something else around chapter 20 or 21-ish. You'll know when you see it. 
> 
> Also, I think this was around the time I finally accepted that no one was going to accept Makoto as a bad guy. At least, not completely. For some reason, being a jackass made him popular, and after they rooted for him after the torture scene, I just said, "fuck it!" I MIGHT have tried again to sway some heads, but I just gave up at some point.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, last chapter before I'm reminded of... something that haunts me to this day. Oh no, nothing horrible happened. Just another one of my major mistakes.

_**?** _

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" A small boy with blue hair with a large fringe that hung just above his right eye complained as another bluenette girl with long hair pulled on his arm and dragged him around.

"Stop fighting!" The girl yelled in response to the boy's pain. She didn't _want_ to drag him around, she just didn't have much of a choice.

"I wouldn't _be_ fighting if..." The boy pulled his arm as hard as he could and managed to break free of the girl's iron grip at the cost of him losing his balance and having his back hit the sand beneath him "Ow." he groaned loudly

"See? Even nature is on my side!" The girl announced as she lifted her arms in victory

"You're mean, Minako." The little Minato chastised his younger twin as he stood back up "You're always bossing me around all the time..."

"Alright..." Minako said as she took a few steps forward "What do _you_ want to do, big bro?"

"Uh..." Minato looked around to see what his options were. They were at the beach there weren't a lot of people that they (or at least, _he_ ) knew so they were by themselves "... Wanna build a castle?"

"Sure!" Minako answered with a nod... followed by immediately standing perfectly still with a smile still plastered on her face "... How do ya build a castle?"

"..." Minato paused for a moment before a realization hit him "... I dunno"

Minako facepalmed at her _big_ brother's oversight. Weren't the oldest supposed to be the smartest?

Minato, meanwhile, was left thinking to himself. There wasn't a lot to do with just the two of them at the beach, but surely there had to be something!

And then, he fell onto his back again. This time, it was of his own volition.

"Um... You okay?" Minako asked as she performed their shared habit of tilting their head when confused "What're you doin'?"

"Makin' sand angles," Minato answered as he outstretched his arms and proceeded to make angels... in the sand.

"T-That's not snow!" Minako pointed out, what kinda weirdo makes angles in the sand?

"So...?" Minato smirked as he lifted his head, there was one thing he knew that would rattle her "... I win?"

Minako blinked, did he seriously just say that? Did he seriously think that she would give in just by-

"In your dreams!" Minako said as she laid on her back and performed the same actions as her brother. Who was she kidding? Of course, that'd be the one thing to make to her cave.

Together, the two of them move their limbs as quickly as they could all the while trying to make an actual shape that would be recognizable in the sand beneath them.

When the two were satisfied, they stood up and observed each others works of 'art'

"I win." The little Minato said with a self-satisfied smirk on his face. There were few things more satisfying than beating his sister in a contest... Except for a beauty contest, those were all hers and could stay that way.

"Wha- Uh-uh!" Minako retorted as she pointed to the one she made "See? Mine has better wings!" She declared despite one fact...

... They looked the exact same.

"Uh-uh! Mine is because I was born first!" Minato retorted using his age to make the final judgement, something that may/may not have been why he won most contests

"Hey! That's not fair!" She pouted, but Minato was almost completely immune to her pouting and begging by now.

Accepting defeat, the younger bluenette looked at both of their creations again but for a different reason this time.

"It's kinda fitting right?" Minako said out of the blue as she smiled

"Huh?" Minato tilted his head confused. It was at this point that he was beginning to realize that there wasn't just no one that he knew... They were the only ones there in general

"Two angels; One made by a boy and by a girl!" She explained, still having that happy smile of her face "It's just like mama and papa, right?"

"Mama and... Papa?" Minato asked as he suddenly felt several degrees colder. Not only that for some reason the scenery seemed darker as if the clouds had moved to block out the sun.

"Don't you remember, Minato?" Minako asked as she took a step forward and grabbed the boy's arms "They're gone, just like _you're_ supposed to!"

"H-Hey, you're scaring me." The child said with a shaky voice before the grip on his arms suddenly felt amplified by ten "Ouch! T-That hurts!"

"We came into this world together, remember?!" Minako screamed at him as her grip on him only tightened and her body was suddenly set ablaze "So _where_ are you?!"

Minato wanted to break free, but he was completely paralyzed by fear. The flames that had spontaneously appeared on his sister began to spread from her main body to her arms.

The flames were scorching hot and they only got closer and closer to Minato until he began to feel his own flesh beginning to burn.

The boy closed his eyes as he screamed in agony

_"Minato!"_

* * *

_**Yakushima** _

"GAAAHHH!" Makoto screamed as he leaped out of bed with his body completely drenched in a cold sweat.

The boy blinked as he took in his surroundings. He was in the room given to him as a guest in the Kirijo vacation home.

The boy took then proceeded to evaluate himself. No cuts, no burns, nothing. The only thing unusual was the fact that both he and his clothes were drenched in sweat from his nightmare.

"Grgh..." Makoto grunted as he hit the wall in frustration, only to find that he had hit a soft spot thus causing a large hole to form.

Another night he was haunted by nightmares that left him in a cold sweat. Yet another night that he was forced to dream dreams that weren't his, but were instead the dreams of a dead man.

"Dammit." He cursed as he left his room after changing into dry clothes. This was _not_ the time or the place for this nonsense.

When Makoto reached what could only be described as the lounge, one of the maids approached him.

"Good morning, Yuki-san." The maid greeted with a bow which slightly irked the boy who was not used to the mannerisms

"Hmm..." The boy looked around and noticed that there wasn't any evidence of anyone else here, not even Junpei of all people "Where are the others?"

"The girls went for a walk together while the boys went to the beach." The maid answered, "They wanted to wake you, but when they approached your room they heard a large amount of thrashing."

"Yeah, you might want to change the sheets..." Makoto said with a sigh while silently hoping no one asked for details of what happened "... and there's a hole in the wall now. Sorry about that."

The maid blinked for a moment, no doubt surprised by the last part but she shook her head "N-No need, Yuki-san. Shall I lead you to the dining room?"

"I'm fine." Makoto answered as he sat down finally having a chance to actually relax by himself for once "And it's 'Makoto', 'Yuki-san' just sounds... creepy"

The maid nodded "As you wish, Makoto-san." she said before leaving the boy all alone.

Well, alone might not have been the right word...

"Are you alright?" Pharos asked as he sat on the table in front of the bluenette "Your nightmares have been getting worse lately."

"It's nothing." Makoto dismissed, a few bad dreams weren't going to kill him

"You started scratching yourself." Pharos pointed out which made the boy look at his own nails, if he really did hurt himself then there'd be no way for him to tell in his sleep with Pharos constantly healing him.

"That's what I got you for, right?" Makoto asked with a smirk, but the boy only responded with a blank face showing that he wasn't amused in the slightest

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, he may have loved the little perv to death but moments like this were still bothersome. But, there was still a bit of gratitude to be had over his concern for him.

"Shouldn't you be worried about the girls?" Makoto asked before chuckling softly "I mean, at times it's like your obsessed with..."

The boy's words died in his throat when he noticed his friend was still giving him a blank face, even talking about girls wasn't enough to distract the little boy.

It wasn't too unusual all things considered, Pharos placed his friend's care about everything else and vice versa. Ever since the two had been stuck together, Pharos had always taken it upon himself to care for the bluenette which was good since he'd have likely died ages ago otherwise.

However, there were also moments like this where Makoto dismissed whatever problem(s) he was facing all to appease him, something which did the exact opposite.

"It was about _her_ , okay?" Makoto explained as he stood up, such a topic was sensitive to him. If it had been anyone else, he might've lost his temper on the spot.

Pharos let out a weak "Oh..." as he lowered his head. He knew just how sensitive that was to him, and it was somewhat sensitive to him as well, albeit for an entirely different reason.

"Don't worry about it." Makoto assured him as he walked to the door "C'mon, let's find the girls. Maybe they'll be able to cheer you up or something."

Pharos nodded, his will to object to anything the bluenette wanted was nearly gone completely in that moment "As you wish."

...

...

...

Makoto yawned as he slowly stretched his arms. Despite sleeping in the longest of everyone who came to Yakushima, he was still completely exhausted due to his nightmare making his rest completely restless.

Pharos himself was completely silent the entire time, it'd been ten years since it happened but everything that happened then was still haunting both of them. It was when Makoto lost everything and became what he was today.

Of course, it was also the day that the two of them were bounded together. And while Pharos knew that Makoto cared deeply for him, he often found himself wondering how much what had happened then was really affecting him.

Either way, Makoto was his only friend and _he_ was the one that kept him functioning. If he were to disappear, it'd be very unlikely that Makoto would be able to function normally anymore.

Then, Makoto stopped walking as the familiar sensation of a Plume of Dusk could be felt by the boy again just like yesterday.

Makoto let out a "Huh?" in confusion. It was stronger than what he felt when he was near an Evoker, so what could it be?

"Hmm..." Makoto hummed as he walked towards the source of the sensation. Did Kirijo misplace one of their toys or something?

The boy continued with this thought process as he made his way closer and closer to the source of the sensation. Judging by the fact that the source was getting closer faster than he was walking, then it was safe to say that whatever it was, was also moving closer towards him as well.

After a solid ten minutes, Makoto finally reached where the source had abruptly stopped, leading him to find a blonde girl in a blue dress and with her back facing him.

The bluenette tilted his head, _she_ was the source of the Plume?

"Er... Hello?" He greeted awkwardly not knowing exactly this exchange is going to go.

The girl gasped before turning around and looking at the boy intently "You are..."

At that moment, it was like a massive shock wave coursed through Makoto's entire system.

The blonde hair...

Those blue eyes that seemed to have two circles in the irises...

And that voice that he could never forget...

"You..." Makoto said in shock as he took a step back and gave the coldest glare imaginable. How? How could _she_ be here? Why was she here?

"Wait, what?!" The sound of Junpei's voice could be heard as he and Akihiko caught up with the two. For whatever reason, they were in their swimsuits with both sharing shocked looks on their faces "She's talking to _him_ now?!"

"He barely said anything!" Akihiko pointed out, just what the hell were those two doing before this?

"There you are!" And that could only be Yukari. As if on cue, she and all of the girls approached as well while Makoto and the mysterious girl continued to exchange glares.

"Um... What're you doing in the middle of the woods in your swimsuits?" Fuuka asked the two boys awkwardly also as confused as Makoto was in that regard

Kotone looked left and right at Makoto and the girl just as awkwardly "Why do I feel like there's a lot of tension here?"

The girl took an aggressive stance as she continued to glare at Makoto "You are dangerous!"

Makoto clenched his fist tighter than he thought was even possible and bit his lip hard enough that it drew blood in a desperate attempt to stop his eyes from glowing in response to the intense emotions that were coursing through him. Still, he kept his silence, if his body language didn't give it away then his voice definitely give away the fact that he knew this 'girl'.

The members of SEES looked at the two completely baffled by the sudden aggression from both parties. Neither of them seemed to have any reason to hate the other, so what as going on?

"Whatever the matter is, I ask that you two settle it some other time." Mitsuru said in her usual business-like manner "I'm sorry to interrupt your vacation, but something important has come up."

"Oh, that won't be necessary." As if things couldn't be any more convenient, the old clown Ikutsuki decided to show himself "You don't have permission to leave the lab on your own Aigis."

Suddenly, the 'girl' known as Aigis dropped her glare and looked at Ikutsuki "I apologize."

Ikutsuki looked at everyone else "Please, return to the vacation home for now everyone. I'll explain everything there."

Makoto eased his glare for a moment "Hurry your ass up." he demanded as he and SEES did as asked.

For reasons completely unknown to everyone else, Makoto seemed to have extreme anger directed towards the girl(?). As for why that is would likely remain a mystery to everyone else for a long time.

...

...

...

Everyone gathered in the Kirijo vacation home as they anxiously waited for Ikutsuki. The sun had gone down hours ago, yet they were _still_ waiting for him!

"Where the hell is he?!" Makoto who had been silently leaning against the wall shouted as he threw his hands up in frustration

"Be patient," Mitsuru asked him, the timing was not one of Ikutsuki's strong suits.

"Dude, did something happen?" Junpei asked, noting that Makoto was a bit more agitated than usual

Makoto responded with a one-eyed death glare "I woke up after a nightmare and then I have that... _**thing**_ be a step away from attacking me, or did you just forget all that?"

"Thing? A little harsh, don't ya think?" Yukari asked, even if she was about to attack there wasn't a reason to refer to Aigis like _that._

"Are you an idiot or just unobservant?" Makoto asked rhetorically "Didn't you see her neck? That wasn't flesh, therefore _'she'_ isn't human."

"He is correct." And just like before, as if on cue both Aigis and Ikutsuki arrived, this time Aigis wasn't wearing her dress which allowed the entirety of her mechanized body to show "I am not a girl. I am the Anti-Shadow suppression weapon, Aigis."

Ikutsuki nodded as if confirming the android's words "She was damaged ten years ago in battle and has been in the lab ever since." the old man rubbed his chin "As to why she woke up now, however, remains a complete mystery."

"Amazing..." Fuuka said as she walked closer to the robot and observed her carefully. She seemed more interested in her no-doubt sophisticated design more than anything, did she have an obsession with machines or something?

"She's so cute..." Junpei said before letting out a depressed sigh "But she's a robot..."

 _What the hell were you two doing?_ Makoto thought to himself as he tilted his head while watching Akihiko pat the junior on the back.

"One more thing..." Kotone said before looking back at Makoto "When you two..."

"You are dangerous!" Aigis said as she took an aggressive stance and glared at Makoto once again

"And you're getting redundant. I think everyone knows that by now," Makoto replied.

"... Yeah, that." Kotone completed her previous statement

"I hate robots and things that want to kill me on the spot." Makoto half-lied, none of them needed to know how he _truly_ knew her while silently praying that the damage she suffered also damaged whatever stored her memories.

"Hmm... This is interesting." Ikutsuki said, genuinely interested in the current series of events "Perhaps she's still half asleep? Maybe her identification system is malfunctioning? Fascinating."

"Is she going to kill me in my sleep?" Makoto asked sharply, never taking his eyes off of Aigis. On top of having to fight a flurry of emotions, he'd have to sleep with _that_ on his mind tonight.

"Requesting permission to eliminate him during the resting period known as 'sleep'." Aigis requested as she continued to glare at Makoto

"D-Denied!" Kotone objected immediately "No killing! You understand?!"

Aigis continued to glare at Makoto for a few more seconds before reverting to her normal stance "Understood."

"Whatever," Makoto said while rolling his eyes, she didn't seem to remember him. Didn't change his feelings, but there were a time and place for everything.

"I'm going to bed." The boy said as he began walking away to the guest rooms "I better not wake up to bullets or guns!" He shouted as a warning.

The moment he reached his room, Makoto slammed his door shut "Pharos?!" he called out to his friend who had disappeared the moment he saw Aigis

"I'm still here," Pharos said as he reappeared on the edge of the bed.

"Was that her..?" Makoto asked while sitting next to his old friend. If anyone would recognize her, it'd be Pharos.

Pharos answered with a nod "Yes, she is the one we met all those years ago." he answered before looking very perplexed "What are we going to do?"

The bluenette shook his head slowly while looking down "Can't do anything here. On the upside, she doesn't seem to remember so you're still hidden." he said before sighing "Can't believe I'm saying, but holy shit, I'm glad I agreed to come here."

"You will be leaving the day after tomorrow, right?" Pharos asked rhetorically "We just have to last until then and we should be fine."

"I hope so..." Makoto whispered as his friend disappeared, leaving him all alone for the first time in many, many years "... I hope so."

...

...

...

Just like their first day here, Makoto had been forced to go to the beach with everyone... Even Aigis. It'd been a very long time, but he remembered her perfectly. After all, he met her on the one day that he was never going to forget until the day he _permanently_ died.

Aigis herself seemed to remember him somewhat, at least, that's the only reason he could think of as to why she was so hostile towards him. Other than that, she didn't seem to remember him nor what she had done to him.

Regardless of her memory, Pharos had been forced to hide completely. Normally there was no reason to do this outside of a fight or when Makoto was interacting with someone, but now it was used as an extra precaution. It was doubtful that Aigis would be able to see him, but after Chidori, it was better safe than sorry.

Of course, despite yesterdays 'shortcomings' everyone was now out enjoying their last day at the beach. And Junpei being Junpei, he was left drooling over some of the many girls on the beach.

Seeing his chance, Makoto walked up to Junpei "Seeing this is one of the saddest things I've ever seen... And that's saying a lot."

"Hey, I'm just... Waiting for the right moment." Junpei said the first pitiful excuse that came to mind

Makoto faked a sigh, mentally he was laughing at what he was about to do "Tell ya what, out of pure pity I'll give you _one_ line that they always fall for."

"Wait, what?" Junpei said, his attention now fully snapped to his fellow junior "Seriously?"

"C'mere..." He said before whispering into Junpei's ear

"Uh..." Junpei blinked the moment he heard what the line was "Y-You sure about that?"

Makoto chuckled "Allow me..." he said before walking to a group of girls.

Junpei watched in amazement as Makoto actually held a conversation with a group of girls. Not only that, they were visibly giggling and actually seemed a bit saddened when he had to leave.

"There..." Makoto said when he returned to Junpei and patted him on the back "Now, go get 'em."

Junpei gulped as he took Makoto's advice and approached another group of girls. Even from a distance, one could obviously see Junpei clearing his throat before making his biggest mistake...

... He opened his mouth.

The two girls that he spoke to instantly gasped as soon as they heard Junpei dare utter that one line. This was then followed by the one dressed in black slapping him across the face so hard that the poor guy fell to the ground.

Then, to ensure that he'd remember this moment, the girl who dressed in green took the chance to destroy what little chance Junpei had of ever procreated by stomping on his most valued possession before she and her friend walked away.

Upon noticing the damage, Kotone approached Makoto "What just happened?"

"I got even with Junpei." Makoto answered with a smirk from ear to ear "Tricked him into saying a terrible chat-up line."

Suddenly, Kotone's interest was piqued "What was the line?"

"I'll get to that, but first..." Makoto looked at her with an almost flirty expression "Did you sit in a pile of sugar?"

"Huh?" Kotone blinked, what was happening right now? "Um... No, why?"

Makoto chuckled "Because you've got a sweet ass."

Kotone took a moment to process this before laughing as loud as she possibly could "He _actually_ said that?!"

"I think the results speak for themselves." Makoto said as he felt a strong sense of pride in his handy work "It's true what they say, revenge truly is sweet."

"Bwahahaha... Hahaha..." Kotone couldn't stop and her stomach was already killing her "I-I can't believe he—Haha haha..."

"Hehe..." Makoto fought a laugh. He was willing to chuckle, but there wasn't much that warranted a reaction like that

However, the temptation was also incredibly strong "Heh... hehe..."

Makoto continued to fight the urge to laugh with the girl beside him before he suddenly lowered his head out of the blue and his breathing became very slow and deep as did his exhales.

Upon noticing his strange stance, Kotone was finally able to stop for a moment and looked at the boy in confusion "Um... You alright?"

No response.

"Makoto-kun?" She called out to him again, her confusion now being replaced with genuine concern.

Then, the boy slowly raised his head again as his breathing went back to normal.

"Huh? What? Something happen?" Minato asked as he looked around confused "You look concerned."

"Uh..." Kotone was left baffled yet again. His voice was more relaxed, his posture had changed, the look in his eyes had changed, and the odd chill that was felt by almost everyone whenever they were near him was suddenly gone. Did his brain just switch?

"Err... It's nothing." She dismissed deciding to keep playing dumb "Are you actually going to go _in_ the water now? You know, the whole reason we came here!"

"With Aigis?" He responded with a question "From what I've seen, unless you want bullets involved, then no."

"Ooh..." The redhead cringed at the thought of that "Okay, yeah that's a good point. Uh..."

It being a beach, there wasn't exactly a lot to do outside of that. At least, not without appearing more childish than usual. Where there's a will, there's a way, right?

...

Apparently, they must've been a shortage of will in the world.

"I.. uh... Ah, screw it!" Kotone exclaimed loudly before grabbing the boy by his fringe and dragging him

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Minato complained loudly as he felt a friend(?) pull what was likely his greatest weakness "What the hell?!"

"I brought you here to enjoy being at a beach..." Kotone reminded him as she unconsciously pulled harder "... and I sure a hell am not letting you be dry this entire trip!" She announced as she approached her teammates

"There!" Kotone said triumphantly as she managed to get him knee-deep before exclaiming "Fish out of water!"

Minato tilted his head as the girl suddenly stood several feet away from him "Fish out of water..?" He repeated before he suddenly got the meaning "Oh, you daughter of a-" he was cut off when he was suddenly drenched from an attack from almost the entirety of SEES from behind.

The bluenette slowly opened his eyes and blew his soaked fringe out of his eyes "... bastard." he finished his sentence before slowly turning around.

Standing before him was Aigis who seemed to be confused for some reason, Fuuka and Yukari who were giggling at what they had just done, Junpei who had rapidly recovered from earlier (how often must it have happened for him to do that?), and Akihiko who had decided to join his kohai.

 _"... I will murder all of you."_ Makoto deadpanned in his thoughts, hopefully that was just an exaggeration.

 _"Oh, I'll murder them all right..."_ Minato thought, but as usual, had a completely different meaning than Makoto.

"So, how was that?" Kotone asked, now standing next to the soaked boy again "See? That's something we call ' _fun',_ understand so far?"

 _"Hmm..."_ Minato hummed as a plan formed in his brain. It was time to brush up on his acting skills again.

Minato frowned as he seemingly glared at Kotone "Oh, really? Plan on treating me like a child much longer?"

"Huh?" And just like that, Kotone's happy mood was killed by the boy's anger "N-No, I meant-"

"I don't care." Minato said as he made the same angered face he made when Makoto yelled at her about a month ago "Do me a favor and leave me the hell alone."

"Makoto-kun, I.." Kotone was about to apologize, but the bluenette began walking away before she could say anything else

Before he could make it back to dry land, he let out a grunt as he crouched down and placed his hands near his right foot "Fuck, what'd I step on?"

"Are you alright?!" Even after that little outrage, Kotone was still concerned about the boy's well being as she made the terrible mistake of walking closer

"Hehe... Gotcha!" He said before taking the chance to splash water on her which landed right on the redhead's face "That's what I call ' _payback',_ understand so far?"

Kotone stood there for what felt like an hour before wiping the droplets of water that remained on her face and suddenly had a happy but competitive look on her face.

"Guys!" She called as Akihiko and the junior members of SEES rallied to their leader's call "Let's show this boy what we can _really_ do..."

"W-Wait, what?" Minato said as he took a step back and had a worried look on his face "T-That's not fair! I'm outnumbered!"

"Should've joined when you had the chance~." Kotone refuted before pointing at the boy "Charge!"

"Hey! Wait a-" The boy's words were quite literally drowned out by the sudden splash attack from SEES.

Aigis, however, remained confused as she looked at the boy. Yesterday and even during the morning today, her systems registered him as an extremely dangerous threat. Now? Now he seemed to be a perfectly normal boy and her scans indicated such. Were her systems already malfunctioning?

Whatever the reason, everyone would be returning home tomorrow and she would be the next new member of SEES with her persona 'Palladion'. It would seem that whatever questions she had would have to wait until some other time then.

In the meantime, she could watch the bluenette boy nearly drown from the attack of her new team members.

In a short moment to catch his breath, Minato managed to catch a glimpse of Aigis who was simply standing there watching him be attacked.

 _"You'll pay..."_ Makoto threatened as Minato continued his water war with SEES, _"Every laugh you have is another stolen from her. You'll Kirijo... I swear it."_

...

...

...

Minato forward leaned against the railing of the boat as they left the island where everyone had formed memories they'd likely never forget. Makoto, of course, thought of the place less fondly especially after meeting Aigis. But still, both of them enjoyed it at least somewhat in their own way.

"Gonna miss it?" The redhead asked as she rubbed her eyes, everyone was pretty tired from having to leave so early in the morning. Everyone else had decided to do what Makoto would call the smart thing and not waste time on sentiments, instead choosing to go to sleep

"You know, I think I will." Minato admitted as he continued to smile at the island that was fading further and further into view "Hey, uh..." the boy looked down and actually seemed a little embarrassed "Er... Thanks for bringing me. I know I'm a bit of a dick at times, and..." the girl hardly held in her laughter at the blushing boy "... Thanks."

Kotone managed to fight the bulk of it, but a small giggle escaped her lips "Had Anyone ever told you that you're really cute when you're embarrassed?" Considering he still seemed to be his gentler self, she wasn't too worried about any repercussions.

"I.. uh... You..." Minato looked away with a red face "... Shut up."

"Next full moon won't be long from now..." She noted as she looked at the sky, it was so early in the morning that once could still see the moon "... What're you going to do?"

"No clue." Minato answered as he shrugged "I take it that I don't even need to ask what you're going to do?"

"I don't have a choice." She answered, still looking at the moon "They need me."

"Why _did_ you join them?" Minato asked, realizing he never bothered asking her before

The girl shrugged "I dunno."

"What?" Minato deadpanned, did she actually just... "How... How can you _not_ know?"

"It just... Felt natural I guess." She tried her hardest to explain as she finally stopping gazing into the moon and looked back at the boy "I mean, I wake up one day to be told I have a special power _of_ a special power and..." She shrugged "What else was I supposed to do?"

"Guess it's a matter of perspective." Minato concluded, "Eh, you do good."

"Really?!" She asked, seemingly astonished that those words came from him

"Um... yes?" He said slowly, a bit surprised by that reaction "I mean, you've got them this far right? You're about halfway through, you often explore Tartarus while taking the role as leader, and you keep pulling personas out of thin air it looks like. Honestly, I don't anyone who'd do better in you-Ah!"

His words were stopped when Kotone suddenly moved what must've been the speed of light and began crushing his ribs with a death grip.

"Forget what everyone else says!" She exclaimed in her typical happy-go-lucky voice of hers and with her carefree smile "Right now, you are the _nicest_ person _ever!"_ She was no-doubt enjoy herself

Minato, on the other hand, quickly had his face turning as blue as his hair "Can't... breath..." he barely managed to utter as he felt his entire rib cage nearly shatter "Ribs... breaking..."

"Huh?" She widened her eyes as she realized how tightly she was holding him "O-Oh! Sorry!" she immediately apologized and loosened her grip while pulling back slightly "Death by hug... That'd be an awkward obituary, huh?"

"Eh, it wouldn't be all bad. Aigis would probably love you for it." He said sarcastically which caused both of them to laugh

"That and... and..."

"U-Uh..."

All thoughts seemed to die in the both of them as they realized their close proximity to one another, along with the fact Kotone was _still_ holding onto him.

Neither of them knew what to say, all that they knew was that his faded out blue-grey eyes were meeting her bright red ones.

Neither of them said a word, the only sound either of them could hear was the sound of the ocean waves and the boat they were on.

Both of them felt their hearts pounding faster and harder than it ever had before while outside of battle. One minute felt like hours as the remained completely still.

Unconsciously, the two of them began leaning closer and closer until...

"Excuse me."

The two juniors let out a small scream as they literally jumped away from each other out of shock from the interruption of this new third party.

Kotone felt like her heart was about to burst from embarrassment as she looked to see who it was "Aigis?!"

"Christ..." Minato exhaled as he placed a hand on his heart to emphasize his shock "We should put a fucking bell on you. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I noticed that neither of you was in your rooms, so I went searching for you." Aigis explained innocently enough "I apologize if I interrupted the two of you."

"Uh..." Minato looked away, hoping that the light the Sun gave at this time wasn't enough to show his scarlet face

"Y-You didn't interrupt anything!" Kotone said as she waved her arms like she was an anime character "Just uh... There was a lot you missed!"

"S-Speaking of which, shouldn't you go to sleep now?" Minato asked Kotone in a somewhat shaky voice "I mean, it'll be a long trip."

"Y-Yeah, I should totally do that!" Kotone said as she slowly began to walk away "Bye!" she shouted before taking off in a full sprint

Aigis blinked as she watched her new leader run faster than she'd ever run before, almost matching her top speed for a moment. What was it that made her so nervous?

"Makoto-san, I wanted to-" Aigis' words were halted when she saw that the boy's head was now hanging and his breathing had slowed greatly.

Suddenly, her systems which had been silent most of the day had returned with a vengeance as she was alerted over and over that the boy in front of her was an extremely dangerous threat.

Makoto slowly lifted his head and glared at the android "What the hell do you want, you bucket of bolts?"

Aigis took her aggressive stance again "You are dangerous..."

Makoto chuckled as he stood up straight "Should I make a tally for every time you say that?"

Aigis aimed her right hand's fingers at Makoto, which in reality meant that she was pointing at least four guns at the boy at once "You are... A threat."

"Really? So killing the last two shadows makes me an enemy? Wow, that's impressive logic." Makoto 'complimented' as he slowly clapped his hands "You can't hurt me. You're under expressive orders to _not_ do that, remember? Or are your memory banks fried?"

Aigis glared at the boy for a few moments before lowering her hand, intimidation did not seem to work on him. Furthermore, now that she's joined SEES, she cannot disobey her orders.

Left with no other option, Aigis simply continued to glare at Makoto who walked past her with a taunting smirk on his face

"See you later, bucket-of-bolts." He said farewell, using what would likely be his nickname for her.

Aigis stood there, unsure what had just transpired. Earlier today, he was registered as a normal human who was an ally to SEES. Then, her systems told her that he was an extreme threat despite next to nothing happening that'd warrant so.

What was going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pft, now I'm reminded that I liked this chapter. I knew everyone wanted me to go on and pair those two, so I, in my infinite wisdom, decided to cockblock them. That was fun. Shame I can't do a trick like that again.
> 
> Oh, right... this is the last one. Last what? Last one before I did something stupid. I think I'm giving it more attention than it deserves since it's not fic-breaking or anything, but goddamn, I still feel like a dumbass whenever I think about it. It ALMOST made me consider rewriting the entire story at one point. Then again, I got that a lot. Eh, whatever.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck me, I'm an idiot! Yo soy un idiota! Boku wa baka desu! You'll see why!

_**?** _

Makoto tapped his foot while leaning against the wall and listening to his earphone with his eyes closed. It'd been three days since he'd come back from Yakushima, so it was time for an update.

It wasn't hard to get his number off of SEES with the excuse of having it in case he changes his mind, or if they need his help or any of that nonsense. These people were so easy to lie to that it was honestly a little baffling.

No wonder these idiots were going to be betrayed by Ikutsuki eventually; They have far too much faith in people.

"He's here." Pharos alerted his friend before disappearing to let him take care of everything.

"Took you long enough, old clown." Makoto insulted the old man as he took off his earphones "You better have something."

"I investigated the organization, and I can indeed confirm that they were part of a project by the Kirijo group." Ikutsuki explained as he flipped through papers that he was carrying "The project itself was to see if one could artificially awaken a persona within someone."

"Let me guess, they fucked it up?" Makoto sneered at the group's plethora of failures

"Those that survived the process soon lost control of their new personas and were given special pills to keep them under control." Ikutsuki continued "Unfortunately, the pills also come with dangerous including damaging the endocrine system and many other vital organs."

"And so most of them died." Makoto concluded, there was no way that many of them could live with having to rely on those pills for long "So what? Are they the only ones alive?"

"The records only show that three of them survived when the project was deemed a failure." Ikutsuki said as he stopped looking at the papers and back at the boy "I trust this information is sufficient?"

"Eh, for now." Makoto answered as he began to walk away from the alley "Be ready when I call you, old pig!" he shouted as a reminder. Informant or not, Ikutsuki was even worse than SEES in so many ways. One was trying to clean up Kirijo's mess without them ever having to truly atone for what they had done, and the other just wanted to use them.

Ikutsuki was just as much as a monster as Makoto was in the end, the only difference is that Makoto had accepted what he was a long time ago. Ikutsuki? He was just a parasite that deserved nothing more than to be squashed.

* * *

_**Paulownia Mall** _

With his earphones still in his ears, Makoto wandered Port Island's popular mall that was progressively getting less and less populated as more and more people became one of the 'Lost'.

Not even concerned if anyone else was in the area watching, he decided to give the crane machine another go.

The boy continuously mouthed 'Come one' as he fiddled with the machine to get the item of his choosing. While he viewed this as a bit childish, he didn't really care at this point anymore. Things like this were the only thing he could do to feel close to the other half of himself he lost years ago.

He'd already mastered these things a long time ago, within just a few moments, Makoto was holding his very own plushie of Jack O' Lantern; Minako's favorite of the so-called 'Jack Bros'.

She used to always get upset that there was never a female version of one of them, at least, none that they could find. But for some reason, she took a liking to this one while he took a personal liking to Jack Frost if he was being honest.

When he gets home, the Jack Bros would be reunited... But Minato/Makoto and Minako never will.

Shaking those thoughts out of his head, he was about to leave before he noticed a familiar girl sitting on a bench.

 _"Well, well, well..."_ Makoto thought as he approached the girl. She seemed to be drawing in some sketchbook of hers.

All that needed to happen was for Pharos to reappear again, and the girl stopped drawing instantly as she felt the same emptiness she had felt weeks ago.

"Remember me. Chidori? That is your name, right?" Makoto asked as he sat next to the girl

"How did you find me?" She asked, her voice was still as soft as the last time they met.

"You're in public, idiot." He chastised as he looked forward, trying his best to make this _seem_ like a casual conversation to anyone at first glance "In what is essentially a social center to while wearing a gothic dress."

"So what are you going to do?" She asked, there didn't seem to be any fear in her voice. Either she was confident Makoto wasn't going to do anything, or he wasn't the only one here who wasn't afraid of dying.

"Again, public," He reminded her, regardless if he wanted to or not, he wasn't going to be able to touch her as long as time was advancing normally "I've noticed I haven't had a grenade thrown at me. What gives?"

"A much more important matter concerns us." She answered as she continued drawing "I wouldn't advise getting any closer to them than you already have. Takaya just might forget about you if you're lucky."

"Careful, you might get blood on your drawing." As he said this, Chidori barely managed to stop a droplet of her own blood from falling from her wrist to the sketchbook beneath her "Cutter, eh? So do I, but I heal."

"What do you want?" Chidori decided to get to the point "You'll get nothing from me, so what is it?"

"I was bored and you were here." He answered as he stood back up, she didn't know it, but she had already told him all he needed to know "See ya later."

Chidori watched as the bluenette left and the feeling of emptiness left with him. She had a feeling that if she tried to follow him, she'd just be falling into some sort of trap.

But, what was that emptiness she felt? When she approached it before, he had a violent outrage and the look of pure murderous intent in his eyes. What was this feeling, and more importantly, what was _he_?

Meanwhile, Makoto was left with his little friend to think with.

"Looks like SEES is in the same boat as me, huh?" The bluenette said to his little plus one "They seem to really like the Dark Hour for whatever reason, guess they found out SEES intend to destroy it."

They were all idiots. Not even they could see the fact that Apathy Syndrome was only coming back stronger and stronger? How would they even conclude that to begin with?! No, someone would have to be close to a member of SEES, or at least, know someone who was other than him.

"Do you think Shinjiro could've told them?" Pharos asked that boy was the only one they knew who fit the bill. He seemed to be on friendly terms with Akihiko, and he also seemed to be buying pills off of them. Drugs for info, it made perfect sense.

"He can't control his persona, so he must be buying their drugs to keep it stable." Makoto explained what the evidence was pointing to "Doubt he did it with the intent to have SEES killed, but it's what he did."

"Are we going to do anything?" Pharos asked concerned, while he prioritized Makoto over anyone, he was taking a personal liking to SEES. While he knew that his friend desired vengeance at the moment, he only desired Makoto's happiness and hoped that he might manage to achieve it through non-lethal means. Still, it was for the bluenette to decide.

 _Warn them..._ Minato pleaded with what could only be described as his other-self. He didn't possess the same hatred for Kirijo and the rest like Makoto did, quite the opposite actually. Furthermore, there was another reason he'd want SEES to be safe...

"Pf, Fuck 'em." Makoto scoffed at the idea, he was going to have to kill them eventually. Who cares if Strega kills a few first? "Up for a trip to Tartarus tonight?"

"Hmm..." Pharos thought to himself for a moment "Are Kotone and her friends going to be there too?"

Makoto grunted for a moment as he remembered what had almost happened on the boat when both he and the rest of SEES were leaving Yakushima.

The boy brought a hand to his lips as he remembered what almost happened between him and Kotone. Actually, it'd be more accurate to say between Minato and Kotone given that he was in control at the moment.

Not only that, but it was something that to a lesser extent affected him too. No, it's something that affected the very foundation in which both of them exist. Whatever feelings Minato had was also shared by the same thing that made up both him and Makoto.

However, there was one thing that prevented Makoto from ever indulging himself in such things.

Even if this feeling was what he thought, she had allied herself with Kirijo. As far as he was concerned, she was just as responsible for what had happened to him and his family.

Besides, why indulge the feelings of a dead man?

"Don't know, should probably go undisguised just in case," Makoto answered his friend's question before putting on his earphones and walking home while the world continued around him.

* * *

_**Dorm** _

Kotone stared at the ceiling while lying on her bed with her earphones on as she thought to herself.

It'd been three days, but what had happened when they were leaving Yakushima was still fresh on her mind both today and the two previous ones.

There was so much that had happened at that moment, was she actually about to kiss _him_?

She knew that he wasn't well mentally. She already knew that when she was talking to him, she was basically talking to two people at the same time and basically taking a gamble on which one she was interacting with.

She knew that his 'Makoto' side was normally rude and impatient with an occasionally softer side if one tried hard enough to reach it. He also possessed what she assumed was his Minato side was much nicer and was more of a team player.

She knew that this would cause problems. It was dangerous for a leader to have emotional entanglements to begin with, and while he may not have been a member of SEES, he still liked to join on operations that could cloud her judgement. There's also the fact that Aigis (for whatever reason) seemed to hate the boy and discouraged her from interacting with him.

She knew that his Makoto side wasn't kind to her teammates. While they had grown more tolerant of him over time, they still didn't have much love for him.

That's not to mention the fact that it was probably just the heat of the moment. After all, she was just acting weird like normal after he said something nice _and_ after a nice vacation that they both had fun on.

If she thought about that, then there was absolutely no problem! It was just the heat of the moment and she didn't know how to react so that happened.

...

...

...

...

...

...

So why couldn't she stop thinking about it!

That was it! It was settled! He hasn't brought it up since and is probably over it, so why can't she!

She _definitely_ couldn't stay here thinking about it since her social links take priority, so it's best to just stop thinking about it!

Kotone groaned as her MP3 player died and she had to sit up to connect it to its charger. She must've been listening to it for hours straight if the batteries on that thing ran out.

Kotone Shiomi was the leader of SEES, people trusted to rid the world of a cursed hour responsible for the brain death of countless people by battling monsters known as shadows by summoning mythical creatures by shooting herself in the head with a gun-like object known as an Evoker...

... And THIS is what her mind was occupied with?!

With a sigh, Kotone climbed out of bed, there was still enough time to squeeze in a link during the day and another at night. Or maybe just settle on studying before bed instead?

Come to think of it, Minato/Makoto was her link, too.

Kotone ruffled her hair in frustration, she was thinking about it again! Why couldn't it just end?

With one more sigh, she left her room and descended down the stairs. Whether she liked it or not, there was one simple fact that she had to accept.

She was falling for a madman.

* * *

_**Streets** _

Makoto kept his hands in his pocket as he made his way to the giant tower.

Even now, the Dark Hour provided a certain amount of comfort to him. He had heard that Yukari claimed that it stole one's innocence, what an idiot.

Innocence? It was nothing but a way to blind one's self from the true cruelties of this world, this hour was nothing but an illuminator. All it has done is reveal to a select few what the Kirijo group had done, and why they should pay for their sins.

He might've contemplated this further, but Makoto soon felt the sensation of a single Plume heading straight for him.

Aigis? No, she couldn't go out without another member of SEES according to them, on top of the fact that she was still under orders to not hurt him.

Who the hell was this?

"Duck!" Pharos screamed a warning just in time for his friend to avoid taking a knife to his skull.

"Does everything in this damn city want me dead?!" Makoto expressed a slight amount of frustration before he noticed a figure brandishing a sword above him ready to strike him down.

Makoto barely managed to roll out of the way in time as his new enemy stabbed their sword in the ground.

Makoto reacted naturally and had a sword materialize in his hand just in time as the figure charged at him.

The figured propelled his blade forward aiming for Makoto's head only to be parried just in time.

Makoto was about to strike back, but the figure thrust his off-hand forward as a blade materialized just as one did with him a few seconds ago.

The bluenette responded by using a similar trick and having another sword materialize on his off-hand and prevent the blade from killing him though it sliced his cheek and effectively trapped him like he was between the blade of scissors.

"Grgh, motherfucker!" Makoto grunted as he kicked the figure in front of him away and took a few jumps back to both catch his bearings and see who it was that was attacking him.

"Heh..." The figure chuckled as it raised its head "Not bad. Not bad at all."

The one standing in front of Makoto was a boy around the same age and height as him with unkempt dark brown hair and seemed to possess Heterochromia iridium as he possessed a dark gray right eye and a light blue left eye. He wore black jeans and a red short-sleeved button-down shirt with a black collar.

"You're Makoto Yuki, right?" The brunette asked as he smiled at his target

"Who the fuck are you?" Makoto asked the natural question "Another failed Kirijo project? How many were there?!"

"Personally, I lost count at a hundred-fifty-two." The boy answered, still having a confident smile on his face "As for me? The name's Sakuya Sakugetsu, nice to meet ya."

"Great~, anymore I should know about?" Makoto asked as he glared at Sakuya, this makes the fourth human being who's tried to kill him now

Sakuya bobbed his head left and right as if contemplating on whether or not to tell "Eh, there _is_ Sho, but he's a vegetable in some town called Inaba." He named another failed project "They tried removing another personality that appeared because he had a Plume in his brain but fucked up. Thank god they learned their lesson and didn't fuck it up when putting one in me."

"And you want me dead because..?" Makoto waited for an answer

"And that's for me to know..." Sakuya said before having a confused look on his face "Huh, I was told you heal almost instantly."

Makoto gasped as his eyes widened as he placed a hand on his left cheek...

... It was still bleeding!

"Judging by that face, I'd say that's not normal." Sakuya said as he chuckled "Doesn't matter to me, makes my job easier."

He could ask Pharos about this later, right now, Makoto had to deal with this.

"Dying's your job? You must be great at it." Makoto said as he took his battle stance, this might take a while "Don't answer, I want to see for myself."

Sakuya's grin widened "Gladly..." he said as he took his own stance "Let's dance."

Despite his attitude, Makoto was still concerned over the fact that (for whatever reason) Pharos wasn't healing his wounds. There's also the fact that this little bastard didn't seem to be an amateur when it came to fighting if he was able to aim a knife that well and move that quickly.

One thing was certain.

This was going to be the most fun Makoto has had in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FUCK YOU! Huh? Oh, no! Not you, Dear Reader. You're good. Hell, for getting this far, I applaud you.
> 
> No, fuck this guy! Fuck him! Go to hell, Sakuya! I wish I fucking listened to Anon (my at the time co-author) and never created you! What's worse is that there were ways to make him... not-so-dumb of a decision to include. Fuck! I am a moron! Ugh!
> 
> Remember when I said I originally envision this to be a lot more battle-focused? Well, Minato being nigh-immortal made all the fights pretty dull, so... this fucker came into existence because he could leave lasting wounds. Of course, I backpedaled when I realize how fucking ridiculous that was. This character was a mistake, so please, let us not speak about him any more than necessary. 
> 
> I learned eventually... eventually... I'm very sorry. According to Nightlyy though (who used to read this), he was responsible for probably one of the better (or even best) fight scenes I've ever written. So, yay, this horrible mistake has 1 silver lining.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sigh* I'm not here to rant. I already made my opinions of this chapter clear.

_**Dorm** _

Fuuka stood in what the rest of SEES had dubbed the command room with her persona Lucia.

This had become somewhat of a habit for her now. By all means, outside of Tartarus and during the full moon she didn't have to do any of this.

Still, Mitsuru had warned before that sometimes shadows stray from Tartarus (respectively dubbed "strays") so she figured it'd be best to keep a lookout just in case.

The only one that stayed up with her during this period was Mitsuru herself who was ready to wake the team the moment trouble seemed like it was starting to brew. It was tiresome for both girls as staying up during the Dark Hour was far more draining than staying up during a _normal_ hour.

However, it was a price both of them were willing to pay.

For Mitsuru, this was nothing. Especially after what had happened at Yakushima, she knew that the sins of her family ran much deeper than she was initially lead to believe. Every night since, she could only ponder just how much more of her own family did she not know and just what had they done, along with how many lives have they destroyed. Whatever the case, she was determined now more than ever to right the numerous wrongs of her family and to end this twisted hour.

Fuuka, while no less determined, had a more innocent reason. She was the newest (human) member of SEES with absolutely no qualifications to join other than her ability to sense shadows and navigate Tartarus, yet they had accepted her without an issue despite her inability to fight directly. For her, SEES was already more of a family than her own parents were. If this could help them in any way, then she'd gladly do this as much as she could.

Suddenly, Fuuka felt the sensation of two persona users, both of them with the Death Arcana. The first was was easily recognizable as Makoto, but who was the other one?

Wait, the way they seemed to be allowing their strength to build... were they about to fight?!

"Yamagishi, what is it?" Mitsuru asked upon noticing the disturbed look on the junior's face

Fuuka turned to Mitsuru as soon as she memorized the location in her mind. If she compared their powers properly, they were going to have to hurry.

* * *

_**Streets** _

"Get ready to be on your knees..." Makoto taunted before charging at the brunette with a single blade in his hand. He didn't know much about this guy other than the fact he can cause _real_ damage to him, so he was going to have to do this if he wanted a feel for him.

Sakuya remained still, but still possessed the same grin that he had when they were simply taunting each other. Didn't matter if Makoto was an adept fighter or not, he's been fighting for as long as he could remember.

Time to see if this bluenette was as good as he'd heard.

When Makoto was a few feet away from him, Sakuya decided to act.

In a blur of movement, Sakuya moved forward and jumped slightly in the air as he swung his blade with almost inhuman speed.

Time seemed to slow for a moment as Makoto barely managed to parry the attack and he locked eyes with the brunette whose feet still hadn't even touched the ground. Hidden beneath his messy hair he could see the edges of an "X" shaped scar located almost exactly where he senses the Plume from within the boy.

After what felt like half a minute, time resumed at its normal pace as Sakuya used the sword in his left hand to go from the bluenette's leg as he descended back onto solid ground.

Makoto grunted in pain as he felt the edge of the sword cut his right leg, but not nearly enough to cripple it.

Before he could retaliate, Sakuya jumped again. This time, he jumped back and was several feet into the air and seemed to hide with his arms and swords.

Sakuya closed his eyes and channeled his still unknown persona's energy into his blades which caused them to gain a black mist-like aura with a red hue around them.

"Wings of Purgatory!" He shouted and seemingly sliced the air as the mass of dark energy became two large waves aimed directly at Makoto

 _Ah, shit..._ Makoto cursed mentally as he took the risky approached and jumped towards the waves in a desperate attempt to get under and avoid the attack.

Makoto could almost feel the waves were just a few meager centimeters from cutting hit the entire scalp off in just one attack.

"On my knees?" Sakuya repeated the boy's previous insult with a laugh as his feet hit the floor again "Please, I'm not your mother last night!"

Makoto could barely stop himself from letting his eyes glow in response to that insult. At the same time, he decided that two people being able to summon/use persona abilities without an Evoker was enough.

Summoning Orpheus without even bothering to reach for the Evoker in his pocket, Makoto released an inferno of what must've been pure hellfire aimed at the dark brunette.

"Heh..." Sakuya chuckled as he stood still as the mass of fire made his way towards him.

When he finally felt his skin feeling as if it'd been put into a microwave, Sakuya moved in another blur of motion as he narrowly avoided being incinerated on the spot.

Despite the fact that he was likely going to have burns the next day, he still had a cocky look on his face which only served to anger Makoto more.

"My mother's dead, asshole!" Makoto refuted the previous insult

"Not in the after-life..." He shot back, playing with this boy's emotions was going to be fun "Believe me, she's one of _liveliest_ ones there."

"You son of a bitch!" Makoto shouted as he felt anger that far surpassed anything he'd felt before built faster than it took Junpei to fail a test.

In response to his irritation, Orpheus reappeared behind his master's foe and slammed his lyre down.

Once again, Sakuya moved at an almost inhuman high-speed movement that made it so that he almost seemed to teleport

"... Is exactly what your father said when you were born!" Sakuya continued, he just needed to piss him off a little but more. A little bit more and he'll start getting reckless.

"You..." Makoto trembled in anger as his rage continued to build rapidly. He was going to tear this boy to pieces by the end of this.

Similar to what he had done to Jin, Makoto dashed forward at a speed that almost matched his opponents with the intent of tearing him apart.

Smirking, Sakuya waited until he was a few feet away before making his move.

Dashing forward in another blur of high speed, Sakuya dodged Makoto's attack while ending up right behind him to react.

Not giving him time to turn around, Sakuya swung outward with both his blades which caused the tips to leave their own cut on the boy's back.

Makoto did a small twirl as he attempted to return the favor, but Sakuya simply ducked to avoid the attack

"And goodbye!" Sakuya said before punching Makoto as hard as he could with his sword still in his hand which combined with his inhuman strength launched both of them into the air.

Having put more into his jump than his punch, Sakuya was now above Makoto in the air. All he had to do was point his sword towards the ground and gravity could do the rest.

 _Dammit..._ Makoto cursed mentally as he quickly realized his situation.

Whoever this guy is, he's clearly had years of practice when it came to fighting. On top of that, he's not using his persona much which other means that he doesn't think he needs it or its weak and he's making up for it with his physical prowess.

Either way, he was going to need something more than Orpheus to kill him. He wanted to avoid doing this, but he had one trick up his sleeve that might work.

"Orpheus Kai!" Makoto called out to another extension of himself

Sakuya was about to scoff, but then he noticed that his shadow that had formed from the moonlight was now mostly covered by a larger figure.

In the air, he was helpless as he took what felt like a bag of bricks to his torso and hit the ground.

Makoto regained his bearings as he managed to land on his feet as his new persona floated behind his master.

It was almost a complete copy of Orpheus, but with a few changes. The hair was slightly paler making it an almost pure white, the metallic body was now black with dark red joints along with the lyre which now had a more demonic appearance.

Orpheus was the persona gained from Minato and Makoto's foundation from which they share their core traits, but this twisted parody of the musician was a persona of Makoto and Makoto alone.

"Grgh... bastard..." Sakuya cursed as he slowly got back up, that was definitely at least three ribs broken at least.

"You're a quick one, aren't you?" Makoto asked having regained his composure

"Quicker than your father if you're here..." Sakuya quipped refusing to show that the blow he had taken had caused any meaningful damage "... And you already have a Prime."

Sakuya sighed as he was annoyed, but not with Makoto "I'm so going to kill that clown for this..."

"That clown is?" Makoto asked raising an eyebrow, maybe he'd say something useful before he dies?

"I'll tell ya when I'm dead..." Sakuya said before stabbing both of his swords into the ground and his left eye became the same dark gray as his other one

"Scotus!" He called as his persona appeared behind him. The Roman God of Darkness donned a cloak which hid most of the body except the head which was covered in a dark cloth and the black mist-like arms that held a large scythe.

Sakuya smirked at Makoto as if the battle had already been decided long ago "Umbra!" He ordered his persona.

Suddenly, the entire area was covered in a thick shroud of pure darkness that blinded any who were inside. Any, that is, except for the person who called it.

"Blinding me, eh..?" Makoto said as he closed his eyes and listened. He still had a few ways to defend against this...

"Hientou." Makoto whispered his order to the persona who played his lyre and attacked in the dark

Sakuya who had been circling Makoto to further confuse was caught off guard and barely managed to avoid the sudden attack from the persona.

 _The hell..?_ Sakuya thought to himself. Darkness completely shrouded the area how could he have managed to pinpoint exactly where he was? Lucky shot?

"Agidyne." Makoto whispered again as another inferno was sent towards the 'hidden' brunette. Even if he was blind, he could still feel the Plume in the boy's brain.

"Dammit..." Sakuya silently cursed as he seemingly disappeared into a dark void.

With its target gone, the mass of fire simply hit the ground causing the gravel to glow from the heat.

Makoto opened his eyes and slowly began to look around. Just a few seconds ago Sakuya's Plume just seemed to disappear into nothing like it was erased from existence.

It was then that a few thoughts began to occur to the boy.

If he was as excited for this as he seemed, then he probably wouldn't have just bailed.

There's no way he could've just blocked out his Plume, could there? No, Makoto still would've felt it as long as he was in the area.

If he managed to disappear suddenly when he learned that hiding himself wasn't going to work...

Makoto turned around and struck just in time as Sakuya reappeared from the portal his shroud of darkness had opened.

Sakuya's reflexes must've been finely tuned as he still managed to react quickly enough to parry the attack which might've been a death blow if he wasn't quick enough.

Not giving him any time to gather his bearings, Makoto swept with his good leg which caused his attacker to trip.

Even as his back was about to hit the ground, Sakuya still managed to get a good cut on Makoto's belly.

"Argh... Grgh... fuck..." Makoto cursed as he slowly took a few steps back while clutching his profusely bleeding waist. He wasn't used not being able to heal mid-battle, he wasn't ready for a fight like this yet.

"Hehe..." Sakuya chuckled as he stood up seemingly confident that he had gained the upper hand again "Not bad, they usually don't last this long..."

"Go to hell..." Makoto whispered as his knees nearly gave in and he had to help support himself with his sword now

"Sorry, ran out of vacation days." The brunette laughed before a beeping sound. The boy looked at his wrist, did his watch work during the Dark Hour?

"Ah, shit..." He cursed under his breath, he didn't have a lot of time left.

Makoto was about to perform a risky maneuver and launch an almighty attack with both of them within the blast radius, but then he felt the sensation of another Plume approaching.

Following the gaze of the bluenette, Sakuya then noticed the members of SEES who had been alerted thanks to Fuuka of the ongoing battle.

"God-fucking-dammit!" He cursed loudly as he glared back at Makoto "You'll see me again."

With that, Sakuya bolted as fast as he could, maybe even running faster than Aigis. All that was left there was the injured Makoto who was bleeding at a rather alarming rate.

"Heh, took you long enough..." Makoto said as he looked at SEES while coughing and wheezing.

He could've sworn one of them said something, but his senses were quickly fading and he knew what was coming.

Figuring that he'd need to get one important piece of information out, Makoto tried talking while desperately fighting the entire time

"And... my blood is O... O pos... posi..."

Makoto could barely even hear a thud as his back in the ground and his consciousness completely slipped away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: I didn't make that up (entirely, anyway). Minato's canon blood type is O.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh, I only vaguely remember writing these next two chapters. Then again, my memory is pretty bad anyway.

_**?** _

"Nrgh..." Makoto groaned, awake but still unable to open his eyes.

Every single muscle in his body felt like it'd been used by the boxing team non-stop for at least a week while they were on steroids. He hadn't felt anything like this ever since he gained Pharos almost a decade ago.

Of course, the act of gaining Pharos was far from voluntary. Not only that, he could remember the agonizing pain he felt that forced his younger self to pass out.

Still, since then he hadn't been alone. Since then, he was unable to be harmed in any meaningful way... even if he wanted to.

He couldn't remember when it was that he started to harm himself, he just did. He remembered that Pharos always seemed shocked when he first started but eventually came to accept it without ever raising any objections.

Makoto never thought about the risk of something like this much. There was always the risk of encountering something nearly as strong or stronger as Pharos, but he always dismissed it.

Besides, it wasn't like anyone would miss him.

Suddenly, Makoto heard what sounded like soft snoring that wasn't his coming from next to him. At this moment, he also began to notice some sort of weight pressing on his body.

 _The hell..?_ Makoto thought as he mustered up enough will to force his eyes open.

As expected, he was currently in a hospital bed with the majority of his body cover in the sheets. As expected, he had an IV in his wrist that was no-doubt used for a blood transfusion considering the amount he lost.

Particular areas of sharp pain were his back, belly, and his right leg; The same spots where Sakuya had attacked him last night. If his weapons were summoned from his persona like Makoto's were, then it was very likely that Scotus would've been able to harm him, too. Strange, Reaper has Death and it doesn't leave any lasting injuries. Maybe he's restraining himself too much? 

No, that's not something to think about. The power he used was like a drug; it was fine in moderation, but too much and eventually he'll start losing something else too—something that he didn't want to think about right now.

There was, however, something in the room that immediately began derailing his chain of thought.

There on the edge of the bed was an auburn-haired girl with her head down sleeping while holding his other hand likely as a means of support.

The boy tilted his head slightly as he looked at his hand. No one had ever done something like that for him before, not even as far back as when his family was alive.

When he was about to say something, the boy's head dropped and his breathing slowed... But something was off when he raised his head.

The boy expression didn't quite fit the usual for Makoto nor Minato, the look in his eyes was sharper than Minato's but not quite as much as Makoto's either, and whereas Makoto felt aggressive and/or cold and Minato felt comforting and welcoming, he just seemed... Lost, as if whatever reason he had to simply live had been crushed a long time ago.

"What're you doing here..?" Minato/Makoto questioned with a whisper, his tone was gentler than Makoto's but not quite as much as Minato's. What reason did she have for being here, especially overnight?

Minato/Makoto looked around and saw that no one else was here but the two of them. Not even Mitsuru who would no doubt want to know just what happened and who that second persona user was.

Hell, not even Aigis was anywhere in sight... Actually, given the fact that she hated him and everyone knew it, it was very likely that SEES ordered her to stay at the dorm.

Minato/Makoto sighed as he took another look at the girl who stayed by his bedside.

Oddly, he felt more hurt than anything.

Make no mistake, her staying with him and even doing something as small as holding his hand while he was asleep and likely nearly died was something that made even Makoto a little happy in a strange way.

But it also hurt... Beyond hurt, it was as if he was suffering the worst type of agony; An agony that was shared by both Minato and Makoto. He knew what his personal feelings towards her were, something that even as demented as Makoto felt.

However, Minato also knew what Makoto wanted and how obsessed he was with achieving it. And with her being a part of SEES... What he wanted was only going to hurt far more than anything else in the long run.

Now, if only if he could get his heart to understand that...

With a sigh, Minato/Makoto lowered his head and retreated once again.

After a few moments of deep breaths followed by rapid blinking, Minato raised his head again.

Seeing that he couldn't stay like this forever, Minato took his free hand (discounting the IV) and gently poked the girl.

"Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead." He teased as the girl began to grunt softly.

After a few minutes, Kotone slowly opened her vibrant red eyes and yawned as she slowly got up. The redhead blinked as she slowly scanned the room and tightened the grip of her fingers which had stiffened overnight... only to find they were still holding onto something.

"Huh..?" The girl looked down and saw what her hands were holding onto before looking up to see the person that hand was attached to

Minato smiled gently in light amusement "How ya doin'?" he said in a teasing tone

Kotone gasped as her sleepy face was replaced by an ecstatic one followed immediately by her wrapping her arms around his neck and putting herself very close to him which made the boy slightly flushed

"Y-You're awake!" She sounded both surprised and elated almost to the point of tears "Do you know how worried I was?!"

"Um... No?" He answered as his cheeks almost glowed a bright pink

The girl pulled back and looked him in the eye "You were out for two days! I.. I almost thought that..." she looked down, what had happened must've scared the hell out of her.

Minato sighed, seeing someone normally upbeat like her being down like that did wonders to kill his mood "I'm sorry..."

"Tch, don't be an idiot." She said as she looked back up, her sad eyes were replaced with a hatred likely directed towards the one that sent him here "What in the hell happened?"

"Mitsuru's not going to like it..." Minato mumbled, the poor girl was already blaming herself for her family's actions, this was just going to add more to an already massive burden "Person who I fought yesterday was called Sakuya Sakugetsu."

"And why did she do this?" She followed up but made one little error

"Er... It was a guy," He corrected.

"Huh..?" Kotone blinked "But... Sakuya's a girl's name."

"His parents named him that for whatever reason." Minato said dryly before returning to the main subject "Anyhow, he claimed he was another one of Kirijo's secret project. With him, they implanted a Plume of Dusk into his brain along with some guy named Sho except he turned into a vegetable."

"That... Geez..." Kotone whispered as she imagined what sort of horror that must've been "But... Why'd he want to kill you?"

Minato shrugged "He didn't answer, only said that I'll see him again." he answered as he tried to sit up only to be met with large amounts of pain concentrated on his belly

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Kotone said as she gently pushed him back down "Are you crazy? You need to lie down and get some rest."

"Didn't you listen?" Minato said as he bit his lip "He's still out there, and I don't think he'll have any qualms about killing me in the hospital."

Kotone took what he said into consideration.

He was right, if he stayed here then he'd risk being this Sakuya guy finding him and killing him here.

On the other, she couldn't just let him leave as if nothing had ever happened. The wound on his stomach alone would render him next to unable to protect himself in a fight, never mind when combined with the rest. Even then, there's the unpredictability he has due to his literal 'dual persona'

Kotone sighed before standing up "I'm going to have a call Mitsuru-senpai and talk to some of the staff. Don't go anywhere and all of your doctors should work with us, so don't worry about secrecy." she said before going out the door

The moment she left, for the third time today the boy lowered his head.

Makoto sighed, this was going to be annoying.

"M-Minato... I..." Makoto turned to his right and saw that right next to him was his old friend whose eyes were red. Had he been crying the entire time? "I... I tried to... But... But I...

"There, there..." Makoto said as he quickly hugged the boy tightly with one arm "You tried your best, and that's all that matters."

"He..." Pharos looked up with an uncharacteristically furious look in his eyes "He'll pay for... I promise he'll pay..."

"I know, I know..." Makoto smiled at his friend as he ruffled the boy's hair "But, we need to play by her rules for now. Can't let 'em find out about you, can we?"

Pharos rubbed his eyes before looking at the door that was still slightly ajar from Kotone's exit "What do you think is going to happen?"

"We're probably going to have to stay at her dorm for a few days, take a few iron supplements to compensate for the blood loss for a bit, hell, might even be forced to let _him_ drive around for a bit because of... **_it,_** " Makoto explained as he gripped his sheets tightly as he thought about the android with blonde hair

Pharos looked at the spots where the injuries from Sakuya remained "I can't heal you instantly, but I might be able to accelerate it. Have you fine within two weeks instead of five."

"Perfect," Makoto said with a slight smirk on his face. If he was relatively fine in two weeks, then it would align almost perfectly with the next full moon.

* * *

_**?** _

Sakuya sighed as he was tempted to cover his ears so that he'd be spared the old man's lecture.

"You bloody fool!" Ikutsuki chastised the boy who was looking out the window of his private 'home' courtesy of the old man himself "Not only did he survive, but you even told him your name _and_ that you were a part of secret project?!"

"Hey, I almost killed him." Sakuya said with a chuckle, he would've finished the job but SEES had been playing guard duty ever since "Besides, didn't you put a hit on him? What? Did you hire idiots for assassins?"

"Strega was merely supposed to either scare him into joining or serve as an example for those who try to refuse in the future..." Ikutsuki said as he continued to glare "But you... Your sole purpose is to be nothing more than a weapon! Why I-"

"You, what?" Sakuya asked as approached Ikutsuki while still having his sneer on his face "Gonna throw me away as you threw away Sho? Is that it?"

The scarred boy laughed at the thought, whether Ikutsuki liked it or not, he _needed_ him "Must be strange, huh? To go from the puppet master to being nothing more than a puppet that likes to spout shitty puns..."

Ikutsuki, however, smirked as he pulled out a remote that'd been in his pocket the whole time. One of the issues with Sho was that there was no way to control him when Minazuki took over, but with Sakuya...

Sakuya's eyes widened as he placed a hand on a small scar at the back of his neck that had been there as long as the one of his face.

Suddenly, the boy fell to the floor screaming in agony as his entire body convulsed in pain.

All of Sakuya's senses seemed to go completely null except his ability to feel pain.

"You'd do well to remember your place," Ikutsuki said cheekily as he pressed the button on the remote and Sakuya's involuntary moments stopped immediately

"You... Bastard..." Sakuya said while panting "I'll... kill you..."

As soon as he said that, Sakuya got up as quickly as he could and dashed towards the old man.

But Ikutsuki had known him for many years now and was more than ready to press the button again.

With another scream in agony, Sakuya fell to the floor again as he felt like he was having a full-blown seizure.

Ikutsuki chuckled at the sight of the boy's pain "Don't worry, I've adjusted the settings as to avoid any _permanent_ damage." he said while walking to the door "I'll be back in time for the Dark Hour." he said before leaving.

With that, Sakuya was left all alone on the floor convulsing in pain. Ever since the day he had that Plume put into his brain, he'd been nothing but the old man's slave.

And now, he was the puppet of a puppet which only added insult to injury.

That bastard was more than willing to throw him away just like he had thrown the closest thing he had to a family away. Thrown away like common trash as if they meant _nothing_ to him.

But he was going to pay one day... One day, Ikutsuki was going to die whether or not it was by Sakuya's hand or Makoto's.

He only had to endure this suffering for just a little longer. He was _not_ going to spend the rest of his days as Ikutsuki's slave, he only had to be patient and endure these punishments a little bit more.

* * *

_**Dorm** _

After a bit of reluctance, the doctors were forced to release Minato/Makoto from the hospital and now into the care of SEES.

Currently, they were all in the lounge and Minato had seen everyone he expected to see...

... Except for one person.

"Uh... What's with pixie?" He asked as he looked at a young boy who must've been in elementary school at most, but still lived here.

"This is Ken Amada." Mitsuru introduced the boy "He's been staying with us ever since break."

Kotone who was sitting next to the boy whispered "He's not a member, though. Can you not talk about shadows and everything else?"

The boy nodded in agreement as he looked at the young boy again "Nice to meet you."

Ken nodded in acknowledgment "Likewise."

Minato grunted softly as he slowly stood up, his injured right leg bad it so that he had to put a little more weight on it "I'm heading bed, 'kay?"

"Your room for the next few days will be on the second floor at the end of the hall to your right," Mitsuru informed before giving a look of expectation to Kotone

"C'mon, tough guy." She teased as she helped him walk up the stairs

"If you ask to help me go to the bathroom, I'm drawing the line..." he complained loudly which made the girl snicker as the two ascended the stairs

Meanwhile, Yukari looked at her friends feeling a little uncomfortable "Is it just me, or does he seem like he has A bipolar disorder?"

"Dude acts like a dick one moment and then _that,_ " Junpei noted, even he noticed the boy's seemingly random change in attitudes

"Do you think..." Fuuka paused as if taking a moment to consider her words before saying "Do you think he has a crush on Kotone-chan?"

"Huh, he _does_ act a bit differently when she's around..." Akihiko noted before he and the rest of SEES looked at Aigis who'd been watching silently "What do you think, Aigis."

Aigis seemed to stare off into nothing as she thought to herself. Once again, there was nothing in her systems as a threat either now or during the period when he was unconscious at the hospital, despite earlier classifications as a top tier threat.

"I do not know," Aigis answered before silently walking up the stairs to the room prepared for her, she must've needed to run some diagnostics on herself.

One moment he was the highest possible threat, and the next he was an ordinary boy. Test after test, they all said she was fine despite the inconsistency.

But that should've been impossible. Her threat identification and classification systems worked fine in battle, yet they never seemed to work on just this one specific blue-haired boy.

No matter what she did, there never seemed to be an answer. She'd completely analyzed him from the bottom up when he was unconscious and he was a one-hundred percent normal human.

Ten toes, ten fingers, two arms and legs, one heart, two lungs, two eyes, one head, one brain, one stomach, everything was the sign that he was no more abnormal than any other boy pardon his behavior.

Speaking of which, his behavior towards her was erratic as well. When he was normal, he was as friendly to her as he was to everyone else. When he was a threat, he was exceptionally hostile towards her.

What _was_ he? What was he and why was his behavior so erratic? What was going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, Sakuya. Fuck you, Sakuya. That is all. 
> 
> Oh, and also, if you've gotten this far, then you're awesome.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you might have noticed that sometimes, a character's thoughts (often shown to be in italics) are sometimes in double quotation marks and sometimes not. That's because I used to just not have any, but later wised up realized how stupid that was, so then I started adding them.

_**Dorm** _

Beep. Beep. Beep.

 _What the hell..?_ Makoto thought as he heard the sound of an alarm clock.

Who set the alarm, and why? Currently, they were on summer vacation, one of the few times when sleeping in was allowed. Who in their right mind would have an alarm set?

With a sigh, the boy slowly opened his eyes and saw Pharos pointing up to a corner on the ceiling where a camera stood.

Makoto let out a "Hmph." He looked around and saw something beside him.

"Oh, what the hell?!" He complained loudly as he grabbed the note that was left beside the object first (Side note: Underlined words are crossed out)

**_Dear Makoto-kun,_ **

**_This wasn't my idea, I swear!_ **

**_I mean, I want you to..._ **

**_It's all by the orders of our evil senpai (DON'T TELL HER I SAID THAT!)_ **

_**Your iron tablets are on your desk.** _

** _Take care..._ **

** _Hope you get..._ **

** _I want to talk to..._ **

_**Sorry again.** _

_**Love** _

_**From,** _

_**Kotone** _

"Hmm..." Makoto looked closely at the note. There were a lot of words that were crossed out, some of which were barely even legible anymore. Whatever it was, she wasn't ready to do whatever she wanted to do.

Makoto let out one last groan "Goddamn you, Kirijo..." he cursed before grabbing the object...

... It was a goddamn cane.

 _I'm not an old man, dammit!_ He screamed mentally as he stood up. Remembering his reason for even wanting to get up, Makoto dragged the chair by his room's desk and brought it to the corned.

 _Think you can spy on me?_ Makoto smirked as he pulled out his knife that had been in his pocket and popped open the casing which exposed the hidden wires.

"Take note, everyone..." Makoto said as he angled his face just right so that the camera caught a decent look of his face "Don't ever try spying on me again..." He warned before cutting all the wires and rendering the camera nothing more than a piece of plastic at most.

After disabling the camera and taking his daily dose of iron, Makoto turned to his little friend "You should hide for a bit. Gonna have to let Minato drive the stick for a while."

Pharos nodded as if agreeing to the suggestion "I understand." he said before disappearing

Makoto sighed as he walked to the door and gripped the knob "Don't do anything stupid, dammit..." he warned his other self before lowering his head and his breathing slowed.

...

...

Minato slowly made his way to the table where everyone else seemed to be eating breakfast. Was waking up this early something that applied to everyone or something?

Noticing a free seat on the very edge of the table, the boy sat down and put his hands in his pocket as he looked at everyone.

"Er... Hi?" He greeted meekly, feeling a bit uncomfortable in a place almost completely foreign to him.

Everyone did a standard dismissive hello until Aigis stepped in and said "Good morning! It is nice to have you join us, Makoto-san."

Minato nodded and smiled softly "Nice to see you too, Aigis."

Suddenly, everyone started looking at both of the like they were crazy.

"Uh... Did something happen?" Fuuka asked as she along with everyone else constantly looked back and forth

"Dude, are you bipolar or somethin'?" Junpei asked which made Minato blink

The blue-haired merely continued to blink with a completely innocent and somewhat oblivious look on his face "... Maybe?"

Meanwhile, Makoto growled in anger _Tch, don't get too friendly with... it._ He demanded, sounding venomous seemingly beyond human possibility.

"Er... Are we sure she's not damaged?" Yukari asked as she kept her gaze on Aigis.

Everyone had been worried ever since he came to the dorm due to Aigis' and Makoto's mutual hatred towards each other, but now... this!

Aigis was suddenly treating the boy nicely while he had referred to her by name instead of 'it' or 'bucket of bolts'.

Minato, on the other hand, didn't seem to be taking anything to heart "May I have something to eat, please?"

"S-Sure..." Kotone agreed, she was the only one who knew about Minato/Makoto's 'problem' and even she was still surprised by the complete one-eighty from the both of them "Uh... Wants some waffles?"

Minato nodded "Yes, please." said politely which only caught even more of everyone's attention.

Kotone promptly went to the kitchen while everyone stared at Minato bewildered.

"Did... Did you by any chance take any injuries to the head?" Mitsuru asked as she blinked rapidly before watching the boy like a hawk. She didn't get any reports from the doctors saying he took any cranial damage, but she wanted to be sure.

Minato shook his head "Mm-mm. Just a few cuts here and there." he answered casually, seemingly not understanding everyone's confusion

"HUH?!" This was going to be a long day.

...

...

...

After breakfast they certainly wouldn't forget for a long time, everyone carried on with what seemed to be their daily activities.

Minato was now spending his time sitting on the sofa watching TV in the lounge not bothering anyone. Just like on the last day of their trip to Yakushima, the boy seemed to be rather... passive. He did his best to avoid hurting the feelings of others, he was much more polite, and just about everything was different.

Of course, the only one that had any explanation as to why was the auburn-haired leader of SEES.

Speaking of her, Kotone bit her lip and twiddled her thumbs as she thought to herself. It was fairly obvious that his 'Minato' side had taken hold, as to why was a mystery to her. He seemed to alternate between the two on a whim or something.

Still, to say that the two were _completely_ different wouldn't exactly be correct either. Like she had thought before, it still seemed like it was less of two different people and more of two vastly different interpretations of the same person.

While their tones were different, their voices were still similar enough that it was still recognizable like comparing the voice of a person when their happy to when they're angry.

Plus, their hobbies didn't seem too different from what she had seen either. Judging by Makoto's skill during the one time they ate at his place and the lunch he made from everyone (much to their shock) an hour or two ago, both seemed to have both talent and interest in cooking.

He still wore and listened to his earphones, too. Judging by the fact he didn't fiddle with his mp3 player either, it was reasonable to assume that their taste in music was the same too.

Finally, while more polite now, his attitude wasn't too dissimilar to his 'Makoto' side once he showed his rarely seen gentler side. Of course, no one other than Kotone knew this as she was probably the only one he had bothered to show it to.

There was one final thing...

Kotone let out a soft groan as she remembered what that final _thing_ was.

Wait...

What _thing?!_ There was nothing, right?! Nothing!

And...

...

...

...

...

...

And...

...

...

...

...

...

...

Oh, who was she kidding at this point?

"Hey, Makoto-kun..." She called out to him with a usually nervous sound in her voice as she felt her heart start pounding and only went faster and faster with every second.

Minato looked away from the TV and directed his gaze towards the girl which caused the intense feeling she felt in her chest amplify by ten and she now began to feel as if the entire planet was watching her despite those two currently being the only ones in the room.

"Yes?" He asked innocently as he tilted his head to the right which caused his fringe to move slightly revealing his normally hidden right eye. Somehow, this made Kotone feel as if even _more_ people were watching her.

"C-Can... uh... Well..." Kotone turned a bright scarlet as she felt like _she_ was developing a personality problem as part of her screamed at her to continue and another part of her silently begged to die.

Minato merely blinked and straightened his head so that it was no longer tilted. The look in his eyes made him seem like he was interested in what she had to say, but he also wasn't going to force it.

"Er... You see... uh..." Kotone silently whimpered to herself which only confused Minato more.

"No need to beat around the bush, Kotone." He assured her, seeing her obvious difficulty in whatever she wanted to say "Just come out and say it."

"Okay... Okay..." She said to herself before taking another long deep breath and looking back at the boy again, she now had a few seconds of maxed out courage and she wasn't about to waste it "ThesummerfestivalissoonandIwannagowithyou!" she said extremely fast causing her words to come out a jumbled mess as her courage stats suddenly went from max back to level one.

"Hmm..." Minato hummed as he took a moment to decipher the words. " _The summer festival is soon and I wanna go with you!"_ He repeated the intended words mentally

Minato merely blinked "... Is this a date?" he asked, sharing Makoto's somewhat limited knowledge on the subject

"NO!" She denied instantly before regretting her words "I mean, yes! I mean, maybe! I mean... uh..." the girl wanted to curl up into a ball at that moment "D-Do you wanna go or not?!"

"Okay." He agreed as if he was signing up for something as casual as a walk to the park or something

Kotone looked up in disbelief "What?" she deadpanned

"Okay." He repeated

"W-W-Wha..." Kotone blinked rapidly and rubbed her eyes as if trying to believe everything she had seen and heard was all a dream "How... How... How do you just say that so casually?!"

Minato shrugged "I dunno." he answered honestly. What was this boy's major malfunction... other than an identity disorder? "Did I upset you?"

"What? N-No, I uh..." Kotone suddenly began to feel hot again "I-I'm gonna.. go uh... Do things!" she said before running up the stairs and to her room.

Minato blinked again for a few moments before looking back at the TV.

 _"She's weird,"_ He thought to himself before changing the channel. For some odd reason, he felt like something bad was happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't care what you're looking forward to, Sakuya. You can burn in hell. My constant ridicule of this one character is going to get so old so quick. 
> 
> What's that? This joke makes no sense because I omitted his last scene in this chapter? Well, shit. Why did I do that? Because not doing so would be disrespectful to the Reaper. I treated him like a punching bag when I was younger and I feel bad about that.


	25. Chapter 25

_**Dorm** _

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Grgh..." Makoto groaned as he opened his eyes to the sound of the alarm clock just like yesterday.

With another loud groan, Makoto sat upon his temporary bed and stretched his arms. At this point, he was tempted to just break the damn thing... except it'd probably be replaced just as quickly with Mitsuru's nearly bottomless wallet and a (probably) large supply of them.

Luckily for him, Pharos was there to turn the alarm off for him.

"I wonder why they have to wake up so early." Pharos pondered out loud. Even during school days Makoto never had to wake up this early, and he _never_ needed an alarm clock since Pharos already had the job covered for him.

"Fuck if I know..." Makoto muttered as a response before rubbing his eyes and sighing again "This is going to be a long week."

Pharos walked over to the desk and looked at the iron tablets his friend had been taking due to the blood loss he suffered during his last fight.

"I don't see why you need these..." Pharos said as he held the capsule that contained the tablets "... Don't I usually take care of everything when you cut yourself?"

"They don't know that." Makoto responded as he held out his hand which signaled Pharos to hand the capsule over "Besides, I thought you might like taking a break for once."

"I see..." Pharos said as his friend took what was now his daily medicine "What do we do now?"

Makoto shrugged before walking to his door. Giving Minato complete control was very... uncomfortable to say the least.

Suddenly, an idea popped into the bluenette's mind which made him smirk.

"Pharos... Why do you go have some fun?"

...

...

...

"You are dangerous!" Aigis announced the moment she saw Makoto which made everyone groan

"Morning, bucket of bolts." Makoto returned with a deadpanned voice which made everyone groan again, this time even louder.

"They're back at it again..." Akihiko sighed as he put his head down, the boy and android feuding killing whatever energy he had.

"Should've known it wouldn't last..." Junpei said as he shivered. Why did it always seem colder whenever Makoto was around?

Kotone buried her face in her hands "Welcome back, Makoto..." she muttered quietly. Of all the people she could've fallen for, why'd it have to be him... Or would it be them?

Ken, however, was completely confused as he was the only one who had never seen the two when they were normal "Is this normal?"

"Unfortunately..." Yukari sighed before she notices something was off. She placed a hand on her throat "Darn it, I forgot my choker..." she said before running up the stairs.

"Can we help you, Yuki?" Mitsuru asked in her usual dignified manner. While legally unofficial, she (and everyone else) had concluded he must have some sort of bipolar disorder.

"Take your damn stick back." Makoto said before tossing the cane he'd been forced to use "I can still walk."

"Yuki, your leg is injured..." Mitsuru pointed out something that no one knew better than Makoto himself "I advise its use to avoid putting unnecessary stress on it."

"My leg, my problem." Makoto gave a simple retort

"Yuki..." Mitsuru called out, this time sounding a bit aggravated. She has always been considered the mother of SEES from the very beginning and no one didn't fear her wrath in some way "I order you to-"

"I'm not your bitch, bitch." Makoto cut her off as he glared into her right eye (the other was concealed by her hair) "I didn't join your club, I'm not your soldier, and you have _no_ authority over me..." He reminded her before giving her a condescending smile "Or did you forget that?

"I..." Mitsuru blinked from the pure shock of what he had just said, no one ever spoke to her in that manner.

Everyone else looked with interest. It was the woman with wrath that would break even those with the strongest will vs the one who seemed to be completely indomitable.

She still had one trump card, however, "Do not forget that you're a guest here. I can easily make you leave." She said, hoping that'd be the end of it

However, Makoto simply laughed "And have my possible death on your conscience?" he asked before smirking "Don't make promises you can't keep, Kirijo..."

Mitsuru was about to say something in response, but she was immediately cut off by the sound of Yukari screaming from upstairs

Everyone stood up concerned at what had just happened while Makoto threw up his hands

"I didn't do it." he pleaded his innocence as they all went upstairs.

Yukari stood outside her room looking as if she was about to have a heart attack from shock.

The brown-haired girl pointed to her room "What the hell is that?!"

"What's what?" Fuuka asked as everyone crowded around the entrance to see what warranted such a strong reaction.

They're written on the wall in a thick red liquid was "YUKARI-CHAN HELP ME!"

"Huh, so ghost exist now?" Makoto said dryly as he noticed everyone eyeing him suspiciously "Really?"

Almost as if on cue, the door to Mitsuru's room suddenly began to creep open.

"M-My room?!" Mitsuru stuttered, completely unsure how to deal with... _this_

"Well, I guess we know it wasn't-" Not even bothering to hear what he said, everyone else ran to Mitsuru's room to see what had just happened.

Makoto sighed as he walked down the steps and heard something along the lines of Mitsuru's underwear being everywhere now.

"Black?" Makoto asked as he looked to the small boy who was walking next to him

"There was a bit of Red too." Pharos answered, sounding a bit surprised himself "Though, I find it weird that there was still a lot of red paint here..."

"Neat..." He said as he looked at the lounge which had now been decorated by the pieces of something very valuable to Junpei

Makoto laughed slowly clapped and laughed "You've done well, little bro... You've done well."

Pharos smiled "Ooh, give me a moment!" he said before vanishing from view

"You guys might want to come down here!" Makoto warned as he simply laughed at everything that'd been going on.

Like moths to a flame, all of SEES came down to see what was going on. Of course, everyone also had a natural reaction when they saw just what was littered all over the place...

"Iori!" Mitsuru signaled out Junpei sounding like she was ready to kill him on the spot

"Why are you blaming me?!" Junpei said as he quickly jumped back, doing his best not to completely soil himself from the mere thought of Mitsuru's wrath

Somewhat confused, Fuuka decided to pick up one of the pages that had been littered across the room before noticing something odd.

"Why does this paper feel so crusty?" She asked which made every look at each other, seemingly not wanting to answer while Makoto could barely hold back his laughter

"Fuuka, c' mere..." The bluenette said before whispering the answer into the girl's ear

The second the revelation was revealed, Fuuka screamed as she threw the page as hard as she could which landed straight onto Akihiko's face strangely enough

Akihiko made a few disgusting sounds as he threw the page down onto the floor and began to shudder. He'd probably never feel clean for as long as he lived now.

"What-" Ken was cut off when Makoto covered his eyes the moment he saw what was above

Makoto shook his head with a smirk on his face as Pharos decided to make it rain the _entirety_ of the girls' wardrobe "Look away children..." he said dryly

Before the girls could respond, the lights from within the dorm began to flicker rapidly as the table flipped and the shelves and doors began to open and close rapidly.

Everyone except Makoto and Aigis screamed as they began to bundle together in fright and screaming for this nightmare to end.

...

...

"Is everything alright?" Like a switch being flipped, all of Pharos' antics came to a complete halt as Ikutsuki entered the dorm.

"Huh?" SEES, who had bundled together in fright now began to spread out, noticing that everything had stopped.

Of course, the dorm was a mess, Yukari's room still had writing on the wall, Junpei's _best friends_ were still everywhere as were the girls' unmentionables, but everything else was completely back to normal.

"They're fine..." Makoto said as he casually walked to Ikutsuki "By the way, did you ask the doctor for me?"

"Ask the doctor?" Ikutsuki repeated confused, not remembering anything of the sorts.

Makoto sighed as he pinched his knows "Remember? What I told you yesterday over the phone?!" he asked before groaning loudly "Come up to my room, I'll tell you there."

Suddenly, Ikutsuki understood what he meant clear as day "I see, I'll be there shortly..." he said before looking at SEES "... I won't ask what happened, but please clean up the place."

Everyone except Aigis felt a drop of sweat fall from their brows as they looked at each other wondering how they were going to explain all of this to Ikutsuki

...

...

Makoto slammed the door shut as soon as Ikutsuki entered "Took you long enough to get your ass over here."

Ikutsuki sighed, obviously not amused by the boy's behavior "And what is it that you want?" he asked, his voice sounding as annoyed as his expression looked

"Well..? What did you find?" Makoto asked as he leaned against his door and crossed his arms

Ikutsuki, however, didn't seem to follow "Uh... For what?"

"Hehe..." Makoto chuckled at the man's apparent confusion "You know just what I meant."

"I'm afraid I don't follow..." Ikutsuki said as he took a step back as a feeling of unease fell over him when he saw Makoto lock the door.

 _So predictable..._ Makoto thought as a small downright direful smirk formed on his face.

"I almost die, and you pretend to know nothing despite me saying he was part of a Kirijo project?" Makoto asked as he took a few steps forward. Hurt or not, this old geezer was nothing compared to him

"I-" Ikutsuki was cut off when Makoto went for the simple approach and back-handed him in the face hard enough to knock the old man down

"Either you don't know anything and you're proving your inadequacy or you're lying..." Makoto said as he grabbed Ikutsuki by the collar, fear completely paralyzing him as long as he remained under the bluenette's cold dead gaze "... Do you want to know how I reward failure?"

Before he could utter a syllable, Makoto forced Ikutsuki's left hand onto the desk that was placed in the room's window.

With the hand placed and Ikutsuki either too weak or fearful to fight back, Makoto quickly pulled out his knife and quickly slid the blade under the nail of the man's ring finger.

"Y-You're bluffing!" Ikutsuki said in a brief moment of courage "I scream, and SEES will come breaking through the door to save me!"

"Then you better not scream..." Makoto said with a low chuckle "Wouldn't want them to die this early in their lives, would you?"

Was... Was he confident in his ability to kill all of them?

Ikutsuki looked into the eyes of his assailant only to find that he couldn't find any emotion in his cold dead seemingly lifeless eyes. It was as if Makoto was doing something as casual as squashing an ant that had made the mistake to crawl on him.

Makoto smirked at the man's futile attempts to read him and whispered "Pop..." as the sound of Ikutsuki's nail breaking could be heard along with muffled screams as the man covered his mouth

"My, my, my..." Makoto said as he retracted his knife before using his fingers to force out whatever was left of the nail on Ikutsuki's bleeding finger "... You've broken a nail."

"I... I'll show the others this..." Ikutsuki said as he covered his bleeding finger

"And I'll show 'em this..." Makoto said as he pressed a few buttons on his phone and the audio of the video he recorded began to play. Even if how long he knew about Ikutsuki came into question, the bluenette had clearly shown he didn't care at all what they think of him... There was absolutely nothing that could be done to threaten him

Ikutsuki glared at the young man who was currently beating him at his own game which seemed to make him smile even more.

"There's a first-aid kit beneath the sink..." Makoto said as he walked to the door, his punishment now over "If anyone asks, you had an accident before you arrived..."

Makoto gripped his doorknob before saying "And Ikutsuki..." he called as he looked back "... Next time, I'll cut off your face." he warned before walking out of his room as if nothing had ever happened.

...

...

...

...

Since the unfortunate incidents from the morning, and now the dorm was (mostly) cleaned up and the Dark Hour had now settled. Ikutsuki quickly went home as he 'remembered' he had something important to do, and Makoto continued to laugh at the earlier misfortunes.

However, now, everyone had been called to the command room because of an alert.

"What's going on?" Kotone asked, donning her urgent 'leader voice' again.

"Yamagishi detected a shadow outside of Tartarus." Mitsuru warned everyone as Fuuka continued to concentrate with her persona, Lucia "Akihiko was in the area, he's holding it off as we speak."

"But, it's not a full moon yet!" Yukari pointed out, naturally thinking the worst of the situation

"Probably just a stray..." Makoto said as he yawned, waking up so early had done a great job of tiring him out "... Shouldn't be an issue."

Suddenly, a beep could be heard from the computer in the room.

Mitsuru pressed a button and spoke into a microphone "Mitsuru here. Were you able to destroy it?"

"Actually... It was already destroyed when I got here." Akihiko answered, he sounding completely astounded "You uh... You need to see it to believe it."

"Yay, a chance to leave.." Makoto said as he stretched his arms

" _You're_ not going..." Mitsuru said as she glared at the boy. Whether he had a bipolar problem or not, his constant disrespect was getting on her nerves

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Makoto said dryly "I'm just going to remain here- unguarded- while a powerful persona user we know next to nothing about wants to kill me." He continued which instantly killed any argument Mitsuru may have had "Besides, what did I say about authority again?"

"Gr..." Mitsuru grunted, this was perhaps the one person in this entire city who could anger her to this degree "Shiomi, he's your responsibility!"

Kotone nodded with a soft sigh, her b- friend's attitude doing numbers to get everyone to hate him again.

...

...

...

"Holy shit..." Makoto muttered as he saw one of the few things left on the planet that could still surprise him.

There, standing in front of everyone, was an albino dog with red eyes. But not just any dog, but one that was moving during the Dark Hour _and_ killed the shadow all by himself.

"Koro-chan!" Fuuka called out to the canine as she, Yukari, and Kotone ran to his side.

"You know this dog?" Mitsuru asked the three of them while Akihiko who had been there before any of them kept the pressure on a wound on the dog's belly.

 _Touche..._ Makoto thought as he unconsciously ran his hand along with his injury that was likely going to scar when it healed. Meanwhile, Yukari explained that the dog's name was Koromaru and that he continued to remain around the area despite his master dying a long time ago.

Aigis walked to the dog and paused for a moment before saying "He said: This place is sacred, so I protected it." she translated

"You can translate dog-talk, too?" Junpei said a bit astonished

Aigis shook her head "Canines do not have their language, but I can communicate with them..."

"He took out the shadow all on his own..." Akihiko said, sounding like he even admired the dog a bit

 _Defending your master's home even after he died?_ Makoto thought as he looked at the bleeding dog. That was such an admirable quality that dogs had, loyalty.

Even though he was smart enough to know his master was gone forever, he still took it upon himself to do this. He even went as far as to kill a shadow all on his own, completely untrained and armed only with his claws and teeth.

 _Even a dog is better, eh?_ Makoto thought to himself as he sighed. Poor guy went out of his way to do that, and now he was suffering for it.

Noticing everyone was distracted with the bleeding dog, Makoto slowly turned to his young friend who was somewhat hesitant to show himself with Aigis right there.

Pharos didn't need to ask, he only gave a simple nod in confirmation.

Makoto approached Akihiko and pushed him to the side "Move it..." he said as he placed his hands on the gaping wound.

After a few seconds, Makoto stood up and Koromaru was perfectly fine.

"There you go, fiddo," Makoto said while taking a step back before noticing everyone giving him strange looks.

Makoto turned his back to them and started to walk back to the dorm he'd been staying in "I like dogs." he answered the question that was on their minds.

 _Heh..._ Makoto laughed silently as he walked with his head low and his hands in his pockets _Less than a dog, huh?_ He repeated mentally throughout the entire night. Even when he tried sleeping, that thought continued to repeat in his mind as he looked at the ceiling.

He heard that Kirijo was going to be dealing with the dog for now until they decide what to do with him, which did make sense seeing how it was the only animal known that could summon a persona with Akihiko as a witness.

No one bothered knocking on Makoto's door for the rest of the night, not even Kotone. Wasn't too surprising given his behavior the entire day, but there was only one thing on his mind.

"Hear that, Minato?" Makoto asked his other self as he continued to toss and turn in the bed, his usual mocking tone was replaced with an empty and lifeless one "... We're even less than a dog now..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As edgy as the Ikutsuki bit was, I honestly don't care. Seeing him get hurt is way too cathartic for me to complain.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I re-read these chapters so much, and I don't even remember writing half of them. Eh, whatever. That's my amnesia kicking in.

_**Dorm** _

It had now been two weeks since Makoto was released from the hospital and had been staying at the dorm as he healed from his injuries sustained by the mysterious persona user Sakuya.

Of course, for reason unknown to most, his behavior towards the SEES was seemingly almost completely random some times. One moment he'd seemed like he was an all-around decent human being, and the next he was his usual disrespectful self. Even Aigis didn't seem to act right around him, being nice to him one moment and saying he's a threat the next.

Was there something in the dorm's water or something?

Whatever the reason, Makoto/Minato had been much more withdrawn ever since what happened with Koromaru. He rarely left his room except for essential things such as to eat or use the bathroom, but immediately went back, rarely saying a word and always seeming like he was deep in thought for whatever reason.

On some occasions, Junpei who was in the room next to him could've sworn he heard the boy scream and/or thrash more than a few times in the night when he tried to sleep. Had he not feared the bluenette's unpredictable wrath, he might've even asked if he was doing alright.

As one would expect, most of the dorm members weren't complaining that the boy that treated them harshly more than half the time wasn't doing much with any of them. Especially having the strange spook that they all dealt with the other day and needing to prepare for the full moon, Makoto/Minato was the least of their concerns.

As for Makoto/Minato himself, his two weeks were up and this was his last day at the dorm.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

**_SMASH!_ **

Makoto glared at the remnants of the alarm clock that had forced him awake so early in the morning for two weeks during his supposed 'break'.

"Fucking hated that thing..." Makoto deplored the device as he left his room and slammed the door shut behind him. No one would mourn for the device he had almost destroyed in anger.

And when he arrived downstairs...

"You are dangerous!" ... He got the greeting he expected

"You need to expand your vocabulary." Makoto waved the accusation off as he walked to the fridge while stretching and yawning.

Just as she had done every day Makoto had shown himself, Aigis watched him like a hawk, never daring to take her eyes off of him for even a second.

"You know..." Makoto pulled out a bottle of water before turning to face Aigis again "... I've been wondering, do you even _know_ why I'm 'dangerous'?"

Aigis didn't say anything, she merely continued to watch Makoto's every movement. However, deep down, this was a question even she had been wondering ever since she first met the boy.

Makoto seemed a bit dissatisfied for some reason "Of course you don't..." he said while sighing "Do you even remember the battle that left you damaged?"

"I do not." Aigis answered immediately, finally having a question she actually could answer now "But such information is irrelevant to you."

Makoto had to fight back his laughter _Oh, if you only knew..._

"Of course it is." Makoto murmured while shaking his head before taking the risky action and walking to the android that likely wanted nothing more to eliminate him until they were face-to-face.

His cold seemingly dead blue-grey eyes met her artificial bright blue ones.

Makoto's usual sneer was replaced with the same blank face that Aigis usually had while the latter looked as if she was ready to attempt to kill the boy in a moment's notice.

Even Minato's voice was completely silent as the two continued to simply action of looking at each other, neither knowing what the other was going to do.

Makoto had tuned out everything, ready for any sort of reaction from the android in front of him. The same android whose face was forever burned into his mind until the day he died and was reunited with the very people he lost all those years ago.

Aigis focused the majority of her systems on the boy in front of her. Every sound, movement, expression, breath, everything about the boy in front of her was being monitored.

After a few moments of inaction, Makoto took a step back with a small smile on his face.

"It's funny right?" He asked while chuckling to himself "How even small events of the past can have such a massive impact on your future, isn't it?" he continued to ask questions "Even things that were long forgotten and should've died long ago can come back to bite you..."

With that, Makoto took his leave "See you later, bucket of bolts."

Now left all alone, Aigis' blank face was now showing one of clear confusion.

"What does that mean?" She questioned, but as expected, there was no answer.

...

...

Makoto sighed as he hunched over the locked bathroom sink. For some reason or another, the bathroom was always cold here despite it being the start of August now.

He didn't mind it though, the cold was a familiar and somewhat stimulating sensation on his skin. It was fitting, really, people often said that the temperature always seemed to lower whenever he was around.

The boy slowly lifted his head and stared at his reflection in the mirror.

Just like Yakushima, he only saw a monster and a failure. Those two words were the only ones that could properly define him.

How many people had he killed? That punk couldn't have been more than roughly seventeen, but he tortured him and then killed him...

... And he didn't feel a thing. He's killed more than just that before, never without reason but that leaves what qualifies as a reason.

How many people has he hurt? How many other families have been torn because of him? Just how much of a hypocrite was he?

He knew what he was, was very wrong. He knew that everything he had done was beyond unforgivable. He knew that he was a horrible excuse for a human being, but continued as if none of those things were true.

Did this make him better or worse? He wasn't driven insane by some supernatural entity, he wasn't tortured for centuries or anything of the sorts... This is just who he was now.

Still, he could easily continue going on without these thoughts clouding his mind. He accepted that he was perhaps the worst type of person imaginable, but there was something else...

He was a failure in every regard as well.

His family would've been disgusted by what he had become.

His parents would only want him to be happy... But he was anything but. Not only that but if they knew what they parented... He wouldn't have blamed them if they would've smothered him in his crib if they knew what he would grow up to do.

And the one that would've hurt the most is that since he was a monster, he knew that his sister would've been terrified of him. She meant the most to him out of anyone, but he knew that he wouldn't even be her brother in her eyes... But she wouldn't be wrong either. Her brother died a long time ago.

Makoto sighed as he took a step back from the mirror and let his eyes glow an inhuman bright yellow.

Was he even human anymore?

With Pharos always being with him, he's survived fatal injuries without a scratch, his eyes had changed to reflect something that no ordinary human could never and should never have, and he easily does things most would consider completely immoral without a second thought.

Hell, his main goal is still to kill Mitsuru, Aigis, and any of SEES that tries to get in his way of that. SEES, the people who've put up with him despite his near-constant disrespect and merely want to end The Dark Hour.

If that wasn't enough, SEES had already caused another internal conflict from within himself now. That conflict stemming from his relation to just one person and one person only...

...

...

 _Dammit..._ Makoto thought to himself as he punched the wall next to him a little too hard, causing the tiles to crack slightly. This wasn't the time for these types of matters, so why wouldn't he just tell her to leave him alone?!

Why? Why did he..?

Makoto shook those thoughts out of his mind and left the bathroom. He'd spent more than enough time there, too long it might raise a few questions.

As he was going back to his room to get the last of his things, he came across a familiar brunette.

"Oh, hey, Makoto-kun..." Yukari greeted, sounding as if she wanted to speak but the boy's unpredictability making hard to decide what to say

"What is it?" He asked, somewhat annoyed. Great, now he could be bored to death with an hour-long lecture of what a horrible person he was.

"Look, it's no secret that we don't exactly like each other..." She stated the obvious but seemed somewhat embarrassed also for whatever reason "I just wanted to say, even if it was unintentional, thanks for what you said after my little breakdown... It kinda weirdly helped me.

Makoto remained stoic faced, whatever feelings he had towards what she had just said weren't showing even slightly. As such, the pink archer became increasingly nervous as he just stood there for a few seconds.

"Whatever..." He said as he rolled his eyes "I'm getting my things and going, so it doesn't matter to me..." he said as he started to continue to his original destination

"Wait!" The girl shouted which made the boy stop but kept his back turned to her

"What is it?" He asked, this time sounding a lot more aggravated than before.

"So uh... This might be a little personal but..." Gulping and praying he doesn't lash out like she had heard Kotone warned her about more than a few times in the past, Yukari went on to ask "So... Are you into Kotone-chan?"

Makoto's eyes flared for a moment as he tightly clenched his hands that were in his pockets. Of all the things that could've been brought up, why did it have to be this?

He'd been contemplating it ever since that damn trip, so why'd it have to be brought up again? Why couldn't anyone just pretend nothing happened?

After several moments of silence, Makoto answered with "Piss off..." he said before going to his room to get the last of his things that he had brought to the dorm.

Yukari sighed as she watched the boy leave "That's what I thought..." she said, unsure whether she should feel happy for her friend, or concerned considering how little they knew about the boy (not to mention his attitude).

All she could do was hope that this wouldn't lead to too many issues in the future.

* * *

_**Home** _

Without saying another word to anyone else, Makoto left the dorm and returned to his 'home'.

As soon as he arrived, Makoto noticed foreign papers on his table.

 _What's this..?_ Makoto thought as he grabbed some of the documents and began to read them.

Makoto chuckled as soon as he realized what these documents were "Ikutsuki, you've bought yourself some time, congratulations..." he muttered as he began to flip through the pages.

It wasn't much, but he did get _some_ information on Sakuya and something called 'Project: Puppet Master".

Like with Strega, whoever was the head of this project was a mystery, but its purpose was clear. The goal was to make a persona user into a powerful living weapon, likely as a means of exploring Tartarus before SEES formed years later.

Within the project, two subjects were favored by whoever ran this project, those two being Sho Minazuki and Sakuya Sakugetsu.

Despite having the potential which was proven by putting them in an artificial Dark Hour (how this was even possible was beyond him), neither of them was able to develop a persona.

Whether they didn't develop a persona due to them having found a catalyst yet or because they lacked the means of acquiring one and could only move was unknown, but the head of the project was so frustrated that he took extreme action.

First, he put a Plume of Dusk inside Sho's brain to see if that'd trigger the development of a persona. As a consequence of having the foreign object implanted, Sho gained an 'X' shaped scar on his face and whenever he was in a fight his eyes seemed to change from blue to grey for whatever reason.

However, just like Sakuya had said before, there was another side effect of the Plume. While Sho didn't develop his persona, an entirely new personality calling itself Minazuki was born with the persona named "Tsukiyomi."

While Minazuki's persona was unquestionably powerful, he also refused to play along with the project as Sho did. One day when training with Sakuya, Minazuki took hold and tried to kill whoever the hell the head of the project was.

After that incident, the head tried to remove Minazuki while leaving Tsukiyomi in Sho. This, however, resulted in Sho becoming a vegetable and the head was forced to put him in a hospital.

It also resulted in Sakuya scorning the head and refusing to follow any orders as well. Apparently, despite their interactions being limited to combat only, the two had developed a sort of brotherly bond just as Sho had looked at the head as a father figure.

Unwilling to give up, the head simply drugged Sakuya's food one day and placed another smaller Plume inside the boy in the hope to gain a persona without being put into another situation similar to Minazuki.

As a side effect of the Plume, Sakuya's right eye permanently remained grey, his behavior could become somewhat erratic at times, and perhaps because of the Plume's mysterious properties, his healing was also accelerated beyond that of a normal human. All of this paled in comparison to the achievement of Sakuya gaining the persona "Scotus" as well as his power being well above that of a typical persona user.

The head, however, knew that Sakuya wouldn't obey his orders willingly. So along with a Plume, the head also implanted a device at the back of the boy's neck. When triggered, this device would cause extreme pain to Sakuya and even if kill him if the settings were high enough or if the device detected any tampering.

After that, there's virtually nothing else left. Either Ikutsuki was terrible at finding information, there wasn't a lot of information to find, or the head of the project had hidden any other information very well... Or all of them.

By the time he was done reading, Makoto was greeting the familiar sensation of The Dark Hour settling.

Makoto walked to his window as he gazed at the full moon at the sky "Got anything?"

Pharos, who had been silent ever since Makoto returned nodded in confirmation "Two of them this time as well..."

"I see..." He murmured as he turned to his friend "Ready Pharos?"

Once again, Pharos nodded in confirmation, ready to help his friend in any way he could "Ready."

Donning the disguise he hadn't used in a rather long time, Makoto left his apartment and began making his way towards where Pharos was sensing the shadows.

Time to kill another group of shadows.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck you... Huh? Oh no, not you guys. By now, you know who I'm saying this to now, right?

_**?** _

"Er... Is this it?" Kotone asked uncertainly as she looked around the middle of an old and long-abandoned military bunker.

For tonight's operation, they were out to eliminate the shadows Arcana Justice and Arcana Chariot. However, when Fuuka tried to locate them, they were both in an area that made no sense.

The shadows were both seemingly underground despite there not being a building in the area with a basement.

Luckily, Aigis had access to information that'd be normally classified to the public. As such, she was able to conclude that this had to be the place that the shadows were...

... Before revealing that her information was also potentially ten years out of date.

A loud shriek turned into a roar as one of the smaller shadows attracted by its stronger brother took notice of SEES and rushed to attack like a mindless monster.

"Hmm? Oh, right..." Kotone reached out to her Evoker and pulled the trigger "Black Frost..." she called out to casually, having been used to fighting shadows now.

The darker version of Jack Frost seemingly smiled before summoning a column of ice below the shadow, thus causing impalement that almost instantly forced it to disappear into black smoke.

"Man, if only the big guys were that easy, right?" Junpei asked with his typical Junpei grin on his face "We'd get this done in no time!"

"If only..." Kotone shook her head as she sighed. She knew these operations were necessary to end the Dark Hour, but damn did it cause her to be drop-dead tired the following day or two.

"Greetings..."

Catching everyone off guard, SEES turned around and saw Takaya and Jin standing side by side. Takaya holds onto his five-shot revolver and Jin holds onto his large pack of grenades.

"I believe this is the first time we've met in person..." Takaya spoke as he scanned the crowd "And Makoto is not with you? Such a shame, I would've loved to have taken care of that matter."

"Who are they?!" Fuuka asked, feeling beyond shocked at the sudden confrontation "Lucia didn't sense a thing until now!"

"Wait..." Kotone thought as she analyzed what he said. Did they know Makoto? But, how? He never said anything before about them, so was he hiding something?

"I am Takaya, and this is Jin." Takaya introduced himself "We are known to some as Strega, I suppose that will suffice. We've been keeping an eye on you for some time now."

"We've heard that you've taken the righteous path to 'save the world'." Takaya continued as a smug look formed on his face "We're here to end that."

"You've gained allies, succeed at every operation, and haven't lost a single member of your flock... Yet this land still crawls with sin and Tartarus stands." Takaya said, sounding almost as if he worshipped the tower more than anything

"If Tartarus and The Dark Hour go then so does our power, but we won't let that happen.." Jin chimed in, explaining their reasons for what they were doing.

"Both Tartarus and The Dark Hour are frontiers for only us, the chosen few may explore."

"Are you insane?!" Yukari screamed at them, incapable of seeing things from that perspective "There's no telling what the shadows will do if left on their own!"

"What difference does it make?" Takaya asked he sighed either in annoyance or disappointment, "Petty conflicts, disease, nature, accidents- There will always be disasters with or without shadows."

"Tell me, hasn't the Dark Hour given you a sense of purpose?!" He asked them, desperately trying to get them to cease their actions.

Jin walked forward with a frown on his face, likely agreeing with everything Takaya has said "Each of you are only using 'justice' as an excuse for your own reasons for fighting. You're all hypocrites, so to hell with you!"

Immediately after finishing his sentence, Jin and Takaya summoned their personas and damaged parts of the door which seemed to be responsible for holding the large steel door as it fell and sealed SEES within with no way out.

Drawn from the noise of the door being slammed shut, A shadow that looked exactly like a tank approached them, and Fuuka could sense both the Chariot and Justice Arcana from it.

Meanwhile, Strega from the other side suddenly felt as if the temperature had dropped by several degrees.

…

…

...

"Hmm..." Makoto hummed as he entered what seemed to be a large and abandoned bunker that was likely once used by the military. For one of the world wars, maybe? Who knows?

Ah, yes... Wars. Another thing all creatures like to do, but something humans do for the most absurd of reasons.

Many creatures are simple like ants. An ant only fights to defend their colony from an invasion of other creatures that might harm them or seize their resources.

Wolves? Also simple; They only attack either to eat or to defend their territory.

Humans? What reason have they not used to kill each other? Religion? Pride? Envy? Lust? Love? Greed? They practically thrive off of war!

Humans pride themselves as being better than animals, yet destroy each other for the most inane of things!

The human race is capable of astounding feats such as landing on the moon, developing potentially world-destroying weapons, eradicating devastating plagues... Yet they simply wish to continue fighting like feral animals.

Truly, this was a species that should've been condemned a long time ago. Simply written off as another failed project.

Speaking of projects...

"You can come out now..." Makoto said using the same lowered and husky voice he used during his confrontation with Strega. He'd felt the presence of a Plume separate from Agis' ever since he was close to this place

Out of the darkness came a familiar boy who looked both annoyed and surprised.

"First Makoto and now you, too?" He complained loudly, likely due to being frustrated that two people have been able to detect him when he was hiding now. "Grgh, what the hell?!"

"Sakuya Sakugetsu..." Makoto stated the brunette's name as his glowing blue eyes met with Sakuya's grey and blue ones "... What do you want?"

"You already know me? Great, that saves me some time introducing myself..." Sakuya said with a laugh, this entire conflict just seemed to be one big game to all of him "To put it simply: I'm gonna need to kill your ass because some clown told me to."

"And you were waiting for me..." Makoto said as he chuckled, thoroughly amused by that statement "... Like the slave you are."

Sakuya's eyes widened in surprise before immediately narrowing in a hostile manner "You better pick your next words carefully."

"Must be hard." Makoto continued, shrouded in the darkness his hood gave was a smile forming from ear to ear "I know everything about you, but know nothing about me. You have nothing to mock me with, but I have everything to mock you. Isn't that right, puppet?"

"You..." Sakuya growled as he took a single step forward, the Plume also seemed to be reacting as a faint turquoise mist began to emanate from him "You... You bastard..."

"I'd yawn, but things like you aren't worth it," Makoto said as he rolled his eyes.

It was then that Makoto took notice of the approaching footsteps approaching from behind him. Coming from deeper within the bunker were two of the three members of Strega.

"And now you're here..." Makoto said with another sigh, what was next? Was the shadow going to crash through the walls too?

"I see fate has permitted us to encounter one another yet again." Takaya said as he took notice of Sakuya who was literally trembling as he tried to keep his animosity under control "And you've brought a friend."

"If by 'friend' you mean I'm going to tear this sonuva bitch apart..." Sakuya said as he took another step forward towards the still unfazed Makoto "... Then, yeah. We're the best of pals."

 _What about SEES?_ Minato whispered, sounding deeply concerned for the well being of young persona users

Makoto looked back at Strega who had come from where he sensed Aigis' Plume "What'd you do with them?"

"You're referring the 'righteous ones', I assume?" Takaya theorized, silently questioning the hooded boy's relation to him. At the same time, the pale man shivered slightly. Why did the air suddenly feel so much colder?

"We brought the door down and sealed them in." Jin explained, feeling no shame in their actions

 _Open the door!_ Minato screamed into Makoto's head

 _Pf, fuck 'em._ Makoto replied to his other self, not seeing any reason to interfere

 _If they fail, you'll need to go in anyway! Open the door, dammit!_ Minato pleaded, almost to the point of begging for Makoto to act. It was obvious why. They both share the same feelings for the same person, as that was a trait that was felt by their foundation itself. And whether they liked it or not, they were all nothing more but byproducts of their foundation.

 _Hmm..._ Makoto looked back at the increasingly unstable Sakuya who looked like a bottle of soda that was ready to burst. Maybe insulting him with something that personal wasn't the best idea, but there was no going back now.

Makoto sighed, this was going to be a long night...

"Open the door," Makoto demanded as his dimly lit eyes began to slightly increase in intensity. He _did_ need to be sure that the shadows were destroyed, whether any of them liked it or not.

Takaya narrows his eyes suspiciously as his hand hovers over his gun "I see. So you are with them as well."

"Them?" Makoto chuckled at the suggestion, who'd he think he was? "My reasons for doing what I do are my own. I don't give a shit what happens to them..."

Makoto eyes suddenly got brighter and the outer edges of his irises gained a faint yellowish tint to them "Now, open the damn door."

"Even if I wanted to, what we have done to the door is irreversible; It cannot be opened by the simple press of a button." Takaya explained before sighing in disappointment "I prayed that you would be different, but it seems you have fallen victim to the same poison that has ravaged them as well."

"Done with your little heart-to-heart, yet?" Sakuya asked, his patience becoming thinner and thinner with every passing moment "Because I'm looking real forward to seeing that ugly mug of yours before I tear it to pieces."

Makoto softly grunted as he looked at the two parties, one blocking the way forward and the other blocking the way back. Neither of them was simply going to let him pass without a fight, and Sakuya was going to try and kill him no matter what.

To make matters worse, he was also on a time limit. The trip here mixed with actually finding the damn place ate into his precious one hour, so now he had maybe half of that left.

He'd hadn't exactly gotten much of a feel for how SEES' fighting abilities were, his last example being a month ago which leaves a large room for change given their trips to Tartarus. There was no way of being sure if SEES could kill the shadows or not, so there was no way he could just stand here and do nothing.

Deciding he needed to act before Sakuya's temper finally exploded or Strega finally grew bored of listening and watching, Makoto took one final deep breath.

Summoning a sword in his right hand, Makoto immediately stabbed it into the ground which caused a sudden black and purple-ish wave to push the two opposing parties back and temporarily incapacitate them.

Using their impaired state to his advantage, Makoto jumped into the air and manipulated the air to propel him forward and past Strega.

Upon landing on his feet, Makoto took off as fast as he could. Didn't matter what the door was made of, he was going to get through even if he had to tear himself to pieces until he was reduced to a bloody paste just to get through the tiniest gap.

"Gr..." Sakuya growled as he quickly recovered from the sudden attack. Did that hooded boy just try running away from him?

No, no, no, no... That boy signed his death warrant. No way in hell was just going to get away with that.

As soon as he could, Sakuya took off in a blur of motion as he moved in nigh-inhuman speeds deeper into the bunker.

Takaya and Jin, however, took their time recovering from the sudden attack. It was purely meant for distraction and did little actual harm to either of them.

"Yet another falls victim..." Takaya said, the disenchantment in his voice apparent "... It would seem that we may have to deal with them ourselves rather than relying solely on either time or shadows to do the job for us."

...

...

"How the hell are we supposed to stop that thing?!" Junpei screamed as he barely moved out of the way in time to avoid becoming roadkill by a literal shadow tank.

"Fuuka, anything helpful would be nice!" Kotone pleaded, exhausted from having to constantly avoid an entire myriad of bright magical arrows over and over again.

"I think... I think there's two of them!" Fuuka explained as best as she could "It's like the two shadows conjoined into one!"

"Initiating suppressing fire!" Aigis announced before jumping high into the air and unleashing a barrage of bullets on the tank.

The shadow merely took the blows like an actual tank before the turret on top aimed and unleashed its barrage.

"Setanta!" Kotone summoned to take some of the heat off of Aigis.

The young Irish hero tried his hardest to pierce through the shadows' think armor but was only met with the tracks being used as a bipedal limb to knock him back.

In retaliation for the interference, Chariot/Justice cast a spell which caused Kotone to be surrounded by a bright circle and from it arose dozens of bright cards.

"Principality!" Kotone switched in a heartbeat which managed to block the Hama spell. She always knew that she was keeping the persona around for a reason.

Akihiko and Mitsuru had summoned their personas from behind while the conjoined shadows were distracted, but the two shadows surprised them by separating with Justice as the turret and Chariot as the main body.

Chariot absorbed the full force of Polydeuces punch, but the tank was still a tank. No matter how hard he hit, the shadow didn't seem to budge even slightly.

Charging up, Chariot charged forward and unleashed a brutal assault on the Gemini half which forced him to retreat.

Justice, meanwhile, was using its smaller form to its full advantage to avoid Penthesilea's attacks with her daggers and ice-based attacks.

With every dodge, Justice was able to fire its gun over and over until the heiress forced her persona to retreat, knowing this tactic would get them nowhere.

Yukari did her best to heal her teammates with Dia as the member of SEES regrouped while the two shadows united once again.

"Any ideas?" Mitsuru asked, never would she have expected to face a literal tank for a shadow.

"Alright, how about-"

Kotone was cut off when the room suddenly felt as if someone had turned down the thermostat a few notches and there was a very loud explosion and crashing coming from the door that had sealed them in.

Coming from a dark shroud that leaked from the door was a familiar persona wearing coffins clutching his master as if shielding him from the attack that had blown the door and sent them more than a few feet back.

"... Well, that's a plan." Kotone deadpanned, remembering just how strong that persona's master was.

Growling, Thanatos let Makoto go and hovered above the boy in for preparation for a fight.

Makoto took immediate notice of SEES who all seemed to be alive and well.

However, this also raised one problem.

He had been forced to speak to Strega and kept that same voice when he talked to Sakuya a few moments ago.

But SEES was more familiar with him and it'd be risky to talk at all with them also being in the same area even with a disguised voice.

However, he couldn't completely revert to being mute to avoid possible suspicion of the enraged boy who had just tried to blow him to pieces and was now emerging from the shroud he had summoned.

He was going to have to speak, but try to avoid doing it unnecessarily.

"Thanks for opening the door..." Makoto thanked dryly, Thanatos continued to growl like a rapid animal only kept at bay by his master's wishes.

"Tch, keep laughin'..." Sakuya said as his now completely grey eyes glared at Makoto "Always wondered what it was like to kill someone smiling."

The confrontation between the two persona users was interrupted by the sudden attack by Chariot/Justice who were both reacting to Pharos inside Makoto and the Plume inside Sakuya.

"I don't like interruptions..." Makoto muttered as he gave orders to the gift from his old friend

Thanatos roared as the chains in his back began to extend to unnatural lengths much like it had done with Arcana Magician just a few months ago. Within moments, the tank that had been given SEES so much trouble was no reduced to being restrained and crushed by the chains of death itself.

Sakuya rolled his eyes "Omega Cluster..." he ordered, there was no reason to let that shadow live any longer than it had to.

Suddenly, the shadows that had been screaming in agony began to combust as it was the center of a black and red explosion that killed both shadows instantly.

"Now..." Sakuya summoned a single sword in his right hand, while he was skilled in the art, dual-wielding was best used to catch someone off guard, "Where were we?"

Kotone rubbed her eyes as she took a good look at the unfamiliar boy in front of her. He looked about the same age as them, but he also possessed a noticeable 'X' shaped scar between his eyes. Was this the same person that put Makoto in the hospital?

"I sense... A Plume of Dusk." Aigis noted, sensing the same object within her to give her a persona.

Aigis attention went to the hooded boy "And him..." Just like with Makoto, every single type of alarm possible went off within her. No, this was worse... so much worse... The Makoto she saw couldn't even hold a candle to what she was feeling right now.

Makoto chuckled, his main objective was now easily completed and now he could afford to have some fun. Both he and his persona stood up straight and mimicked each other's every movement.

Both Death and his Dark Prince held out their hands, beckoning the scarred persona user closer.

"Hey, we-" Junpei was about to help the powerful persona user that had helped him during the operation in May but was then halted when he saw a grenade thrown right in front of him

"Holy-" Luckily for him, Junpei's knee jerk reaction of kicking the grenade as hard and as far as he could've just saved his life as he was able to get it far enough away that he was unharmed by the blast.

"I was hoping the shadow would take care of you..." Takaya said, taking note of the blood-like liquid on the walls. He couldn't take too long lest he'd be here powerless and surrounded by them. "Nevertheless, I will take care of the matter myself."

 _Give me a break..._ Kotone mentally complained as she took a step back. A person with a gun was a dangerous sign, never mind a persona user. Here's hoping that the two of them wouldn't be too much trouble despite their unknown amount of time of experience.

Deep down, Makoto could feel Minato trying to take over to help them, but all of his efforts were in vain. In front of him was the first person who'd managed to hurt him in ten years, and such an action would not go unpunished.

Done waiting, The Dark Prince and Death charged at The Puppet and Darkness himself who returned the gesture likely as a result of his acrimony building up to the breaking point.

Meanwhile, SEES was now forced to engage with persona users they knew almost nothing about after an exhausting spat with Arcana Justice and Chariot. Their chances probably weren't high, but they were better than nothing.

"Hehe..."Makoto chuckled silently at the events that had surrounded him. And to think, just a year ago the most he did was bleed in a room all day. Never did he think that he'd encounter persona users like him nor did he think he'd find anyone who'd even come close to rivaling him and Pharos in power.

But now... Now it was time for a rematch. First Sakuya... then Strega... then Kirijo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, when I'm using my Grammar checker at this point (I lacked one when originally writing), I don't even see if the new things make sense sometimes. I guess I'm just too tired at this point... or laziness is in full effect... or both.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Supposedly, this was one of—if not the—best battle I've written so far. Whether or not that still holds true is anyone's guess. It's not even a very high standard given my history.

**_Abandoned Bunker_ **

"Thanatos," Makoto whispered his persona's name as to signal the god of death to strike.

"Scotus." Sakuya did the same with his persona, he'd been warned by Ikutsuki that this wasn't an opponent to be trifled with.

Thanatos attempted to sever the Roman god in half but was parried by the snath of Scotus' scythe.

 _Dammit..._ Makoto silently cursed as he tried to attack first and as fast as he possibly could.

However, even in his irate state, Sakuya hadn't forgotten how to fight.

Sakuya duck to avoid the attack, his reflexes having been honed from years and years of practice.

Taking full advantage of his opening, Sakuya bolted forward while slashing just below Makoto's left ribs. It was unlikely he'd be able to end this in just a few strikes, so it was best to take him apart one piece at a time.

"Krgh..." Makoto grunted as he felt the all too familiar pain of having his blood spilt.

Makoto took a few steps back as Thanatos pushed Scotus back and both personas retreated. Makoto was being too reckless, he had to focus more on his defence lest this end up like last time.

Still, judging from last time, Sakuya wasn't just going to run in without some sort of counter-attack prepared. His mind was had been developed with the sole purpose of battle, likely every possible scenario was playing in his head all at once.

There was one thing Makoto could give the brunette credit for, this wasn't going to be easy.

Channeling Thanatos' power into his sword, Makoto charged and left a faint black mist-like trail behind him as Sakuya stood still with a confident look on his face.

Sakuya easily parried Makoto's predictable attack but was completely caught by surprise when a sudden small explosion formed in the second the two blades came into contact, the blast of which blew him away until he hit the ground hard.

Makoto raised his hand as the space between him and Sakuya started to become filled with column after column of fire which was quickly making their way closer to the injured boy.

Before a column could arise where Sakuya was, the area around the two was shrouded in a dark mist that made it hard to make out what was just a few feet in front of them and the sensation the boy's plume gave off suddenly disappeared.

Expecting that he'd perform such a maneuver, Makoto put his blade directly behind his back which parried Sakuya's next attack the moment he reappeared.

"Huh?!" Noticing he was caught by surprise, Makoto kicked backward which hit The Puppet's chest hard enough that he was knocked off his feet.

When Sakuya landed on his back, Makoto charged forward again, ready to put an end to this.

Sakuya, however, reacted quickly and rolled out of the way to evade the attack and even managed to get back up in a crouched position.

Seeing an opportunity, Sakuya propelled his blade forward towards Makoto's throat.

Knowing that such a blow would be fatal, Makoto waited until just the last millisecond to summon another sword in his off-hand to parry the attack and followed it with another horizontal slash with his right hand.

Realizing the danger, Sakuya quickly jumped back as the blade cut through his shirt and even left a large but not very deep cut.

"Persona!" Both said simultaneously as both Scotus and Thanatos appeared.

Like a feral animal, Thanatos decided to forgo using his sword. The god of death rushed to the god of darkness and sank its teeth into his shoulder which caused him to bleed a dark blood-like substance similar to what came from shadows.

Scotus screamed as he detached the blade of his scythe and held it like a small sword or knife, utilizing its smaller size to stab the god of death's torso repeatedly in a desperate effort to get him off.

Thanatos let out a low grunt as he used his jaws to apply more pressure before tearing a large chunk of Scotus' shoulder off.

Scouts screamed again as he took advantage of the small amount of extra room provided from Thanatos' action, and jabbed his scythe's blade straight into Thanatos' metallic jaw.

Thanatos let out another grunt as he let Scotus go and performed an attack while drawing his sword technique which provided come distance between the two.

Sakuya clutched his head from his persona's pain bouncing back to him before jumping high into the air "Dark Verdict!"

Makoto looked up and saw a mass of darkness gather into an orb which exploded the moment it hit the floor.

The force of the blast blew Makoto back into a wall which caused him to impact with the wall as various pieces of shrapnel pierced various parts of his body.

Makoto coughed small amounts of blood, his body still in the process of recovering from the impact and shrapnel while left unable to repair whatever damage the blast itself did.

 _This is taking forever..._ Makoto thought as he tightly gripped his swords in vexation. At this rate, this was going to take all night, even with a persona as powerful as Thanatos.

Makoto could give an extra oomph to Thanatos, had it not been for the headache caused by Minato's lashing out in his mind. The pressure was so great that it was a miracle that he could even focus at all, especially with the dark shroud everywhere around the two.

"Grr..." Makoto grunted and his glowing blue eyes briefly flashed yellow before he began to slowly walk towards the brunette again.

Sakuya, meanwhile, was patiently waiting for the Dark Prince, his anger from earlier almost completely gone. Indeed, fighting was where he was comfortable and it was a great way for him to relieve stress.

Never before had either of them come across an opponent that could rival them in any regard. In a strange way, this was a very nice change of pace for both of them.

Sakuya summoned a sword in his left hand to match his opponent as his left eye which had briefly changed back to blue became grey once again.

"Demonic Decree..." Sakuya whispered as he curled his lips, using one of Scotus' rather uncanny and uncommon abilities.

Suddenly, Makoto heard incomprehensible but ominous whispers all around him. At the same time, a giant scythe appeared seemingly out of thin air swinging its blade towards The Dark Prince.

Despite being caught by surprise, Makoto was able to sidestep just in time to avoid the attack that'd likely do massive damage. This wasn't intended to kill, this was just meant to distract him.

"Maeigaon!" The hooded boy ordered, knowing full well that Sakuya was taking this opportunity to attack him while his attention was diverted.

As expected, Sakuya was running towards him in speeds that made him almost impossible to track. However, this also meant that he ran straight into the circle of Eigaons that Makoto had cast.

Large amounts of energy gathered before bursting into multiple small black and red explosions. Said explosions were what caught Sakuya off guard as he was forced to take the full front of the attack.

Forced to greatly slow his speed in response to the damage, Sakuya was practically helpless when Makoto swung his right blade which through Sakuya's upper torso as if it were made of butter.

Sakuya screamed in pain as he recovered from the Eigaon and sidestepped the next attack from Makoto's off-hand.

Even while injured, Sakuya was still fast enough to attack Makoto's left leg just as he had done with his right during their last fight and slide his feet across the ground as the friction halted his momentum and attempted to slash the boy's back.

While Makoto grunted from the pain of having one of his legs injured again, he still placed one of his swords behind him to parry Sakuya's next attack to avoid the risk of being critically injured again.

After this, even with his injured limb, Makoto managed to quickly twirl around while swinging his blade.

Sakuya ducked to avoid being decapitated or dismembered and attempted to retaliate with a slash of his own.

Makoto parried the attack and locked blades with the scarred persona user.

Sakuya stared into the eyes of his opponent as the rest of his face was shrouded in a darkness that even he couldn't see through.

"You're pretty good..." Sakuya complimented, his earlier hostilities seemingly gone at this point, "I haven't had this much fun since I trained with my little brother..."

"Do you ever shut up?" Makoto asked, thoroughly unamused. This was a fight to the death, not a game of sports.

"In that case..." Sakuya launched his head forward until his head collided with the bridge of Makoto's nose.

After he took a few steps back from the sudden impact, Sakuya took the opportunity to kick the boy in his left ribs as hard as he could which knocked the boy even further off balance.

With his balance gone and his defence essentially destroyed, Sakuya took the chance to rush Makoto and swing his swords rapidly to quickly inflict as many wounds as he could, focusing primarily on his shoulders, some of the upper chest, and legs.

Makoto was left with no other choice but to simply take the blows until he used a Garudyne exactly where the two of them are which blew them across the entire area they had been fighting in.

" _Hack_..." Makoto coughed as he knelt as blood quickly began to form small pools around him. He had expected this to be a cakewalk with Thanatos, but this bastard was still tough as hell.

Makoto was still panting when he began to feel Sakuya's plume slowly moving closer again, his senses not being impaired in the slightest.

 _Feel like trading yet?_ Minato asked, likely doing his best to sound as dry as possible

 _Pf, and how would that change anything?_ Makoto asked as he slowly stood back up and clutched the weapons in his hands.

 _Two minds think differently, you know?_ Minato pointed out. Indeed, Minato's strategy in battle wasn't reliant on Pharos' ability to heal him which would be perfect for an opponent like this.

"Gr..." Makoto trembled in anger. He'd been relying far too much on brute force, but he was able to catch Sakuya by surprise a few times. However, his entire strategy had been based on him being unkillable and his time recovering had killed any time he had to reattune his senses.

 _Overstep your bounds and I'm taking over..._ Makoto demanded as Sakuya came into view again.

"C'mon, what's the matter?" Sakuya asked, ready to continue their battle "Come and get-"

Sakuya's words were halted when he saw The Dark Prince suddenly lower his head and his breathing slowed to the point it almost seemed to stop briefly.

Minato raised his head and glared back at the brunette "He's right, you need to shut up."

 _What the..?_ Sakuya blinked rapidly as he noticed the various changes that just happened. The boy's voice while still disguised had a different tone to it, his posture had gone from standing straight to being slightly more forward, but most noticeably, he had perfectly mimicked an action that Sakuya had only saw once in his entire life.

"C'mon, what's the matter?" Minato asked using the brunette's earlier words as a small smirk formed and he completely ditched the sword in his left hand "Come and get me."

...

...

Kotone fired her Evoker and her eyes briefly glistened as Black Frost appeared "Marakunda!" she ordered, hoping that debuffing them would tip the scales in their favor against the veteran persona users.

Both Kotone and most of SEES had been forced out to stay back out of the range of their weapons due to Takaya's choice of a gun and Jin's grenades making getting close to either of them far riskier than it was worth. As such, the entire team had been forced to rely on their personas to do the fighting for them, lest they risk getting one of them killed.

The only thing that was good for them was the fact that they weren't in the area of effect of that strange shroud the hooded boy and Sakuya were fighting in.

"Initiate the summoning sequence!" Aigis announced as she summoned her persona, Palladion which had a robotic appearance likely to reflect her master's origins.

Palladion looked up and seemingly fired bullet-like projectiles at the two members of Strega.

However, doing such action had enough time to prepare that the two of them were able to telegraph and evade the attack.

"Hypnos," Takaya called has he clutched his head in agony from the pain of summoning his persona.

A strange almost humming sound came from Hypnos before an entire storm's worth of electricity began to fall from above them.

Aigis and Yukari, whose weaknesses were electricity were quickly taken out and SEES lost the two members they had whose weapons weren't affected by the distance.

Jin threw another grenade towards Kotone, likely as to take out the next most valuable asset to SEES.

It was at this moment that Kotone switched to one of her oldest personas as a knee jerk reaction "Angel!" she called and fired and the persona used a Garu spell to redirect the small bomb away. The fuse on the thing was so short that it exploded before it even hit the ground due to the extra time it was given.

Junpei summoned Hermes and attempted to burn the grenadier to a crisp, but was only caught by surprise as Jin's persona reflected the persona right back at him. Thankfully, Hermes' resistance to fire made sure that any wounds inflicted by the attack were minor at best.

"I've finished scanning them!" Fuuka told everyone "Don't use darkness or light attacks, and Jin reflects fire!" she warned everyone

"Do you have any ideas, Shiomi?" Mitsuru asked as she stood next to her leader

"Time to bust out a new one..." Kotone said as she took a deep breath and fired her Evoker again "Samael!"

A serpent known as Poison of God appeared symbolizing her link of the Death Arcana.

Samael hissed at the still floating Hypnos before quickly slithering through the air and biting into the god of sleep itself with its venomous fangs.

Jin summoned his persona Moros, but Samael merely used his snake-like body to wrap around and crush the god of doom like a boa constricting its prey.

Takaya grunted in pain, the poison coursing into his persona taking a great toll on his stamina while Jin was feeling Moros' pain bounce back at him.

Seeing the chance to do some damage, Akihiko summoned Polydeuces and sent the Gemini half to hit Hypnos as hard as he possibly could.

However, Takaya's persona was merely poisoned, _not_ helpless.

He had learned from his previous observations that the boxer's weakness was ice-based attacks, so when Hypnos surprised him and his persona by freezing the latter in a box of ice, the numbers of active fighters SEES had become even smaller.

After being crushed for several moments, Jin finally regained enough of his senses to order his persona to retreat.

Realizing her persona was out in the open, Kotone order Samael's retreat as well and did a headcount. Right now, all that was left were her, Mitsuru, Junpei, and Fuuka, the latter of which can't fight.

Meanwhile, the number of Strega members remained the same as it was before.

To her left, from within the shrouded area, she could still hear the hooded boy and Sakuya trying to kill each other.

Taking this opportunity to catch her breath, Kotone looked at the blood-like liquid that covered the walls which was the only sort of indicator as to how much time was left of this twisted hour. The liquid had already begun to recede meaning that they didn't have a lot of time left.

All she could do now was hope that she and the others could last until then.

...

...

" _Dammit!_ " Sakuya cursed as Minato evaded another one of his attacks

"Megido!" Minato ordered and dozens of bright lights quickly made their way towards the brunette.

Left with no form of defence, Sakuya had no choice but to take the full power of the almighty attack which made Scotus from within scream in pain.

He was fighting different now, Sakuya noted. Now he was relying a lot more on mixing spells and sword combat then he had before.

His voice changed, his posture changed, his fighting style changed; This was almost exactly like with...

Sakuya jumped into the air again and seemed to hide with his swords as a black and red aura began to surround them.

Knowing what was coming, Minato focused Thanatos' power into his sword which caused a similar black and purple aura to surround it.

Together, both of them used a variation of Wings of Purgatory to launched two waves that intercepted each other.

Realizing Sakuya would need to land, Minato cast Garudyne on where the boy had been which caused him to crash down on the ground.

"Gr... Dammit, dammit!" Sakuya continued to scream in anger as he threw both of his swords into the ground and leaned slightly back with outstretched arms as Scotus appeared behind him and a dark portal beneath him.

Feeling what was coming, Minato raised his left hand as Thanatos appeared behind him roaring and a similar portal appeared beneath him.

Suddenly, both persona users summoned a mass of dark energy which materialized as blades that constantly intercepted one another. No matter how much pressure one side let on, neither made any progress and only stopped when everything became nothing more than a pure black even Sakuya couldn't see through.

Suddenly, both the black and the shroud itself disappeared as Thanatos' sword and Scotus' scythe clashed again, neither able to gain any dominance over the other.

Sakuya pulled his blades out of the ground and aimed one at his opponent "What... What the hell happened to you?!"

Minato shrugged like a child playing dumb with an adult "Well, I guess it all started when my dad and mom were together one night just after high school graduation..."

"Grrr..." In a fit of rage from the insult, Sakuya charged forward to cut the boy down.

Minato held his blade with both hands as he prepared for the potential onslaught that was about to ensue.

The bluenette sidestepped to the left Sakuya's first vertical strike from his hand.

As soon as his blade hit the floor, Sakuya used his other sword to parry the next attack Minato made target at his back.

Sakuya counter-attacked by horizontally swept his right blade, but it only hit the air as Minato jumped back to evade the attack again.

"Gotta try harder!" Minato taunted as he jumped a few more paces back.

"You sonuva..." Completely losing his temper, Sakuya charged forward as fast as he could, ready to cut the hooded boy into pieces.

"Gotcha..." Minato whispered as he cast Maragidynes around both of them, blinding Sakuya in smoke that he couldn't see him but he could still sense him.

Sakuya slashed the air where Minato had once been standing, completely lost and enraged.

"Where are you?!" Sakuya yelled as he continuously looked all around him, unable to see through the thick smoke that Minato had caused around them.

"Hiya..." Makoto who was just a few feet in front of him greeted with a smirk on his face and a sword in his right hand.

Catching him completely off guard, Makoto rushed the brunette and performed an onslaught similar to what had been done to him a few moments ago, targeting the joints, in particular, to slow The Puppet down.

Similar to what he had done to Jin before, Makoto slashed upwards and launched both of them into the air.

"Hurry up and die!" Makoto demanded as he slashed downwards, amplifying his attack with a Garudyne and sent the boy crashing towards the floor again.

Sakuya felt various bones in his ribs and his left shoulder snaps like a twig as he hit the ground.

"Krgh... Hsshh... Fuck..." Sakuya cursed before coughing up a bit of blood. At this moment, he also took note of the beeping sound coming from his wrist.

"Dammit..." Sakuya said as he slowly got on his feet and noticed the liquid on the walls had almost completely receded.

"The Dark Hour is ending..." Chidori warned Takaya and Jin, the latter of which was using his revolver to shoot at the ground as to discourage any of the SEES members to get any closer.

The two members took notice of the gravely injured persona user and approached him.

"While our goals may differ, I trust the path we are on is intertwined..." Takaya said, speaking in that surreal tone of his "... Such as here, for instance."

Sakuya rolled his eyes, even he knew what the pale man wanted. He had no interest in associating himself with them, but now wasn't the time to make enemies.

"Umbra..." Sakuya ordered as a thick shroud of darkness appeared, giving the three of them ample opportunity to escape.

Makoto watched as he sensed Sakuya's Plume getting further and further. He might've even gone after him, had it not been for injuries he had already sustained discouraging him from doing so. All he could do was try to catch his breath, while he didn't succeed in killing him, at least he didn't go mostly unscathed this time.

Eventually, Sakuya's Plume completely went dark and with it, the dark shroud that had surrounded the area went.

Makoto sighed, at least the shadow was taken care of now. The boy looked to his right and saw the members of SEES trying to wake up those who had fallen unconscious during the battle.

Kotone reached into her pockets and pulled out one of the beads she'd found while exploring Tartarus on occasion.

"Please work, please work..." She silently prayed as she placed some of the beads in her robotic friend's hand.

Lo and behold, despite her robotic origins, Aigis was able to regain full function as the beads disappeared into a bright light and Kotone was left to take care of the rest.

Aigis' eyes focused on her surroundings before directing all of her attention to the unfamiliar hooded boy with a face shrouded in an unnatural darkness.

Despite their distance from each other, one could easily swear that the two of them were locking eyes with each other. It was almost as if they were two enemies that had been reunited after many, many years of inactivity.

"One day..." Makoto declared as he took his leave, wanting to be out of sight before The Dark Hour ended. As much as he loved to, today wasn't the day.

But soon... Sometime this year, their blood would decorate the walls of this city for everything. It was all just a matter of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No joke, I still feel some pride in Scotus. What? He's literally the only part of this whole massive fuck-up that I'm not ashamed of.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe, I still chuckle every time I think of this chapter. Before we get to why we get to read a little on this massive mistake's backstory, ugh.

_**?/?/?** _

"Hrrah!" A young redheaded boy with grey eyes and a fresh scar on his face screamed as he attacked his opponent with two swords simultaneously.

His opponent in question was another boy, this one with dark brown hair, also with blue eyes albeit a lighter shade, and was older by possibly a year or two.

"Gotta try harder, Sho..." The brunette taunted as he evaded the attack in a blur of movement and even added insult to injury by harmlessly jabbing the boy with the flat end of his sword in the back as he ran past him.

The brunette took a few more steps back as he curled his lips in a way that only further aggravated the redhead even more.

"Dammit, dammit..!" Sho cursed as he ran as fast as he could, ready to completely obliterate the boy by literally slicing him to pieces.

The brunette, however, expected this. One of Sho's greatest weaknesses was that short fuse of his that forced him to risk everything performing rush maneuvers that he knew how to counter like the back of his hand.

"Not that easy, little bro..." The brunette mumbled as he held the swords in his hands in a reverse grip, ready to act the moment the redhead got close.

The moment Sho got close, the brunette slashed upwards with his right sword with the intent of launching the two of them in the air.

However, this technique had been used before and Sho wasn't going to fall for it again.

Sho intercepted the blow with his own at almost the same speed (possibly even faster), but with much greater strength behind it which forced the brunette to stumble back and try to regain his balance.

The brunette gasped in surprise as Sho's frown was replaced with a smirk of his own "Here comes more!" The redhead exclaimed as he struck again which the brunette managed to parry, but at the cost of stumbling back again.

Sho stuck again and again in rapid succession at speeds that'd easily be too much for any normal person. However, the brunette had been trained to fight and react to the same speeds as him, but every slash took more and more out of him.

Eventually, the rapid succession of the attacks was too much for the brunette to handle as he was forced to fall on his back due to the sheer amount of power Sho delivered on his last strike.

Ready to put an end to this, Sho leaped into the air with his swords pointed downwards intending to plunge them into the boy.

The brunette, however, wasn't going to die that easily after all he'd been through. He rolled to the left to avoid the attack and quickly got back on his feet.

Sho grunted and frowned again as he turned back to his opponent and the two struck each other's blades which quickly turned into all four of the swords locking.

"Weren't you supposed to get a persona?" The brunette asked, remembering the reason behind Sho's scar "What's wrong? Are you trying to drag this out?"

"Gr... Damn you, Sakuya!" Sho exclaimed as he suddenly pushed forward as hard as he could to break the lock the two of them were in.

"Hehe, don't disappoint dear old dad..." Sakuya chuckled as he went back a few paces. Fighting like this had been their routine before Sho went into surgery a few weeks ago to get something called a 'persona', all just to please the old man, Ikutsuki who was watching them from behind the glass.

Sho's anger suddenly boiled to an extreme, indeed, Ikutsuki's expectations had been a bit of a soft spot after he had failed to gain a persona even after getting Plume of Dusk inserted into his brain.

"Goddamn you, I'll tear you-"

Sho's anger cut off suddenly as he lowered his head and his breathing slowed to the point that both Sakuya and Ikutsuki thought it stopped for a moment. Did he just faint?

"Uh... Sho?" Sakuya called out now sounding a bit concerned, dropping his weapons he moved to approach the boy who had become a surrogate brother of sorts. After all, their entire lives were spent almost completely in solitude unless they were fighting, so they were all each other all besides Ikutsuki.

Sakuya stopped when the redhead raised his head, but something was different. He had a much sharper look in his eyes and his frown was tamer but had a much colder feel to it.

"You dare put him through this for your amusement..?" Sho(?) asked as he turned towards Ikutsuki, his voice was much more measured to the point it almost sounded like a completely different person "... Did you think I would simply stand by and allow this?"

Sakuya blinked, never in his life had he seen Sho talk like that (literally) to Ikutsuki of all people "Dude, what the hell?"

Sho(?) turned to Sakuya still frowning yet also somewhat amused at the same time "I see a reintroduction is in order; I am Minazuki, Sho Minazuki. Do not get in my way or I will simply have to kill you." he threatened, though his voice made it clear that he fully intended to live up to it

Minazuki turned and walked towards the glass that separated Ikutsuki from the two of them.

"Tsukiyomi." He called and A large figure donning a cloak with white lines all over its body and wielding a sword seemingly made out of some sort of black flame that was also apparent on the top of its head. This was the persona that was given when Sho had a Plume implanted into his brain.

Tsukiyomi was easily able to shatter the glass with his unnatural strength which allowed Minazuki to jump through and slowly make his way to the surprised and shocked Ikutsuki.

"How many days has he suffered for you?" Minazuki asked, his eyes giving off a hostile aura that Sho would never be able to ever match in his entire lifetime.

Minazuki was about to paint the room crimson in Ikutsuki's blood but was halted when Sakuya grabbed his arm.

"Sho, what the-" Sakuya was cut off with a scream as he felt Minazuki plunge his sword straight into the boy's stomach.

This was then followed by Minazuki throttling the boy and pinning him against the wall with a look of pure murderous intent in his eyes.

"I warned you not to get in my way..." Minazuki reminded him of what he had said less than five minutes ago "Then again, you've hurt the boy as well, have you not? I suppose it's time that-"

Minazuki's words were replaced with a scream as Ikutsuki grabbed the taser that he had with him as a precaution and used it on the out of control redhead.

With thousands of volts of electricity coursing through his body, Minazuki was knocked unconscious and Sakuya was left to fall to the floor bleeding from his earlier impalement.

"The Plume must've given him a second personality..." Sakuya heard Ikutsuki as his vision began to fade "... How troublesome" were the last words he heard before his entire world went black.

...

...

...

Sakuya groaned as he woke up from his dream/memory and rubbed his still aching left shoulder. If there was one good thing about having a Plume, it was that its healing properties allowed him to recover a lot faster than a normal person would.

Still, none of his injuries were what was occupying his mind. It had been two weeks and what had happened during the last full moon was still occupying his mind. All of those actions that the hooded boy performed...

Lowering his head so suddenly...

Breathing slowing almost to the point it almost seemed to stop completely...

Voice suddenly changing out of the blue...

Seemingly like a different person afterward...

That was exactly like what happened with Minazuki years ago, but how?

He saw Sho in the hospital with his own eyes not too long after his surgery and the persona they used was completely different, too!

But there was no mistaking it, that was the same thing that he had seen all those years ago.

There was only one thing that could've been possible... Whoever this hooded boy was, he was more than just _one_ person.

That just left one question, who was the one under the hood? The number of persona users was limited, so the list of suspects wasn't very large.

It couldn't be any of the members of SEES for obvious reasons and equally obvious reasons why it couldn't be any of the members of Strega. Was it someone that they haven't encountered before?

Makoto? No, why wouldn't he have donned the disguise when he went to kill Arcana Hierophant and Lovers?

Who the hell was this person... Or would that be persons in this case?

"Hmm..." Sakuya thought to himself. Come to think of it, since he had to figure it out himself then that meant that Ikutsuki didn't know either... And now, he was going to have to find out all by himself.

After all, he's using him to kill whoever he needs dead; He wasn't being to used to distribute any information. Here's hoping that leads to something horrible to Ikutsuki.

* * *

_**Naganaki Shrine** _

"What the hell am I doing?" Makoto questioned himself as he stood amongst the crowd of people that had gathered for the festival.

Indeed, what _was_ he doing? Why was he doing something that he never agreed to do, but instead his other side decided to do on his behalf which was one of the key reasons he took over dominance again during his stay at the dorm.

During his time recovering from his last spat with Sakuya, the thought had occurred to him a few times to simply not show up to this cursed festival, especially because he never went to them usually.

But every time he thought this, he just kept imagining the sad and disappointed look that'd be on her face... Dammit, what the hell was wrong with him?!

"You showed!" He heard and turned his head towards the direction of the voice, the image that greeted him was one of the few things that could leave him stunned.

Standing before him was Kotone in a white and orange yukata that was secured tightly around the waist leaving little but a few things to the imagination.

"K-K-K..." Makoto choked on his words as his face slightly reddened from the sight.

What was going on? He'd seen several girls in revealing outfits, hell, he's even seen Kotone half-naked before, but now... Now he couldn't even speak? What was going on?

Kotone giggled at the sight of the speechless boy "Ooh, you like whatcha see?" she teased as she positioned herself into an alluring pose to torture the boy further.

"D-D-Don't tease me!" He demanded, unwilling to let a few hormones get the best of him.

This action, however, only made the redheaded girl laugh more "Aw, you're cuuuuuuute when you're embarrassed..." she further teased as she moved next to him and elbowed him gently in the stomach "C'mon, don't I look adorable?"

Makoto, however, simply frowned and grunted as he looked down to the ground "Grr... shut up."

This, again, warranted the opposite reaction of what he was hoping for and he was instead poked repeatedly as Kotone singing "Say it! Say it! S-S-Say it! Say it! Say it! S-S-Say it! Say it!"

"I hate you..." He mumbled before looking up and staring into her expecting vibrant red eyes "... You're cute."

"You're cute...?" She trailed off, clearly expecting her to finish with her name or something

"Grgh.." Makoto growled loudly before exploding; If she wanted him to say something, might as well go all out "Kotone Shiomi, I think you look cute, beautiful, and sexy in that outfit! There, is that enough?" he asked, barely able to keep his tone measured enough that his voice was drowned out by the rest of the crowd.

Kotone blinked for a moment in surprise at the sudden outburst, but that soon transformed into a satisfied smile "Yup, you're adorable when you're embarrassed."

Rather than respond with words, Makoto let out a loud and drawn out whimper in response signaling that he's had enough.

Surprisingly, Kotone seemed willing to finally drop the matter... only to lock her right arm with his left.

"Shall we be off?" She asked, continuing to torment her b- friend.

"I..." What was going on? He hated it when people touched him, but some part of him didn't want to push for his release. Whenever he was about to, his resolve would begin crumbling as he imagined the disappointed look on her face.

Why? What was going on? What was happening to him? Did he take a blow to the head at some point?

"Ooh, those masks are cute!" Kotone exclaimed as she dragged her hostage with her to a stand full of animal-themed mask for the festivities.

The stand had mask themed after cats, rabbits, even a few owls, and foxes. There were also a few that looked like a dog that resembled that dog Koromaru from a few weeks ago.

"How's the little guy?" Makoto asked, remembering the canine that proved just how low the bluenette truly was "Koromaru was his name right? He doing fine?"

"Huh?" A light bulb suddenly went off in her brain as she remembered something that she'd been meaning to tell him "Oh, he's doing great. He's our newest member."

"You... Let a dog join?" he said slowly as if he was trying to talk and wrap his head around the idea at the same time

"Yup, has his own Evoker collar and everything," Kotone explained while failing to hold back a smile, remembering the look on Junpei's face when he was told that the team would have to go through summer classes for a week. Sure, the meant her too, but it was still hilarious.

"I see..." Makoto said as he avoided looking her in the eye as he sighed internally. As if all of them weren't already enough, now he was going to have to kill a dog he respected too.

As if to break the tension before it could truly form, a loud rumbling sound could be heard. The source seemed to be somewhere abound Kotone- No, wait... It was _coming_ from Kotone.

Kotone's cheeks redden as she cringed slightly in embarrassment "Hehe... Guess I'm a bit hungrier than I realized, huh?" she said meekly feeling as if hundreds of eyes were focusing on her despite him being the only one paying attention to her.

Makoto looked around and noticed a takoyaki stand nearby that didn't seem to have any lines for them to wait on.

"Would there work?" Makoto asked as he pointed to the stand with his free hand. She may have spent a lot of time with him, but he didn't exactly know what types of food she like/disliked either.

"Ooh, good eye!" She said excitedly as she dragged him again at an almost comically fast speed until she reached what was currently what her version heaven would be like.

"Um... One order please!" She asked the female vendor politely as she finally let Makoto go and gave the woman some of the money she had earned via working part-time jobs at the theater and cafe.

"Sure thing!" The vender agreed as she quickly made a tray that seemed to have a little more than one would expect. The vendor leaned forward and whispered into the redhead's ear "I put in a little extra free of charge, too. Good luck with your boyfriend over there."

Kotone reddened a bit more before nodding "Thanks, ma'am." she thanked and returned to the bluenette still red-faced.

"Did you hear that..?" She asked, barely able to contain her giggling and her face almost seemed to be glowing the redder it became "She called you my boyfriend."

"That so..?" Makoto replied disinterest, instead, his attention was focused on the same thing that had distracted him the last time he was here.

_"Minato!"_

Three graves; Two for adults, one that was far too small...

_"Minato!"_

One for a loving mother and another for a caring father...

_"MINATO!"_

And then, one for a piece of him that he had lost... All because-

"Hey!" Kotone's yelling shocked him out of his daze and made him shake his head to regain focus

"I'm sorry, what?" He tried to understand what was going on, having been distracted by things he wished he could forget.

"I said: try some!" She answered as she held the tray just a tad bit higher for emphasis "I'm not taking a single bit until you do!"

Makoto looked down at the tray before shrugging "Guess you'll just have to starve then."

Kotone's eyes widen and she almost jumped in shock of what he had just said "Wha- Makoto-kun, you meanie!" she pouted, forgetting how he liked to do the opposite of what a normal person would do "Come on, pretty please..?"

"What do I get?" He asked with a self-satisfied simper on his face and crossed his arms

"Uh..." Kotone took a moment to think, remembering that there was next to nothing she could give him. If she couldn't give him something, then there was one thing she could do "... If you don't, I'll tell everyone that the mean, mean Makoto-kun kissed me!"

Makoto nearly choked on his saliva the minute he heard that "W-W-Wha- I.. I never-"

"But you almost did!" She reminded him with a joshing tone in her voice "Oh, Yakushima, I remember it like it was yesterday... Just a few more seconds and you would've been sucking my face!"

"I-I.." Makoto cringed as he was forced to deal with the consequence of his other side's actions. To make it worse, she was a known social butterfly with a supposed 'pure heart' while he was known as the 'heartless bastard,' so there was no question that that information would be more embarrassing for him rather than her.

Christ, there was no winning against her, was there?

"Alright, alright..." He unwillingly agreed as he tried the piece closest to him. There was a strange texture to it... was there something other than an octopus in this thing?

"There we go. See how easy that was?" Now, it was her turn to have a complacent look on her face as she was finally able to begin satisfying her stomach which finally ceased its unwelcomed noises.

"Ugh..." Makoto grunted weakly, trying his best to keep an angry or at least annoyed face, but seeing her with a bright smile on her face... It was so much like...

_"Minato!"_

Makoto shook his head again to push the memories of someone long dead out of his head.

 _Dammit..._ He complained internally, how many more times was he going to have to endure this?

Kotone quickly threw the tray in the waste bin as soon as she was done with it before having an uncharacteristically anxious look on her face.

"Hey, so uh..." Her weak voice trailed off, almost as if she was searching for the words she needed to continue the sentence "... Would it be that bad?"

"Huh?" Makoto titled his head confused as to what she was implying or at least trying to imply "Explain."

"What I mean is..." Her voice trailed off again before suddenly looking dead-serious "Is there something wrong with people knowing you almost kissed me?"

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Makoto shot back, now feeling as if something unpleasant was about to start

Kotone gasped before briefly covering her mouth "That sounded too aggressive, didn't it? Sorry, sorry..." She continued muttering apologies before shaking her head and looking back at him with A timid look still lingering in her eyes

"What I'm trying to say is... Well... Um..." Kotone gulped, praying that she'd be able to say the right words "... Would it have been so bad if we... did?"

Makoto could only blink slowly, unable to comprehend what had just formed in her brain and left her mouth "... Where is this going?" he played dumb, hoping to god that this wasn't leading where he thought.

"God, you're such an idiot..." She complained with a whimper before sighing "Well, uh... Hanging around you is really fun! You might be mean sometimes, but you're a good guy deep down and uh..."

Kotone's face changed into her brightest red yet, and the leader of SEES took another deep inhale.

 _Alright, alright... I can do this... I can do this..._ She cheered herself on, praying that this would pay off.

"Makoto-kun..." Kotone gathered all of her courage to finish her sentence "I-I..." Despite her efforts, she was hesitant to utter those last three words.

Makoto felt various emotions hit him at once at that very moment. He knew what she wanted to say, but what should he say?

This... This wasn't right... She was a member of SEES and... It wouldn't be right...

But she had become close to him in just the span of a few months... Despite his efforts, she'd forced her way into his life to the point where part of him held her dear...

 _No..._ Makoto thought, not letting his emotions cloud his judgement. It'd only hurt more if this continued any more than it already has.

 _Yes..._ Minato whispered, unwilling to lose the dearest thing he had earned during these past few months

_No..._

_Yes..._

_No..._

_Yes..._

_I can't..._

_Don't let this go!_

_It's not right!_

_It's what we want!_

_I... I have to kill Kirijo... All of them have to pay!_

_She's innocent!_

_So was she!_

_... I love her_

_Shut up!_

_Say it!_

_Shut up!_

_SAY IT!_

_SHUT UP!_

_We want her... We want her by our side_

_Stop! Stop talking, damn you!_

_Stop resisting!_

_You're dead... It doesn't matter what you want!_

_We love her..._

_Stop... STOP!_

_Say it, damn you! SAY IT! ON OUR FAMILY'S GRAVES, SAY IT!_

_SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!_

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"Don't..." Makoto said with a trembling lip and a completely broken-hearted look in his eyes as he took a step back "Please... Don't... Don't ever..."

"Huh?" The nervous look on her face vanished instantly when she saw his eyes that looked like someone in extreme pain

"For... For everyone's sake... Don't... Don't ever finish those words..." He sounded like he was begging her as he took a step back "I... I..."

He muttered something, but the only word she managed to hear was "Sorry" as he ran away at full speed, leaving her all alone.

Kotone had a feeling that this would probably end something like this. After all, this was the same boy who'd lost everything and had gained nothing in return for all the pain he must've endured growing up.

Still, this did nothing to stop the tears from falling as she lowered her head and felt as if her heart as been stabbed multiple times.

She knew from the get-go that this was probably for the better, but it did nothing to heal her now broken heart.

Kotone looked up again and despite knowing that her words wouldn't reach him, she still had to say them...

"I love you..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #REJECTED  
> Hehe, no one has any idea how pissed people got at me when I did that. But I had to! I had to troll everyone—it was the perfect opportunity! It felt so good!!!
> 
> And after this is a bunch of melodrama, but that's because this fic works on anime-logic. Eh, if you've gotten this far, then you can deal with my... whatever you call this.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember what I said about this going by anime logic that this fic likes to follow? Then you know what it's time for! Melodrama! Melodrama! Melodrama!

**_Dorm_ **

The leader of SEES continued to remain in her room, her heart still feeling like it'd been shattered to pieces the previous night.

As cliched as it was, her room was only appropriate wasn't it? What better and more private place was there to collect and sort through your thoughts than in the comfort of your room?

That's not to say she became a complete recluse as a result of what happened; She still went out to eat and do other necessities but did so with an unusually gloomy atmosphere that everyone else in the dorm took notice almost instantly.

Left with nothing to go off of since the girl kept whatever happened to herself, the dorm members were forced to leave her be and essentially play a guessing game to figure out what had happened to their leader.

 _So stupid..._ She silently cursed herself, condemning her naive actions that were the reason she was suffering right now.

Everything... Everything that she was experiencing right now was so stupid. Everything that she had done the night before was even stupider. Everything was just so absurd beyond what any words could comprehend.

Why? Why did it hurt so much to simply be rejected like that? He didn't try to hurt her, he didn't insult her, he even apologized before he left. And yet, it hurt... Seeing him run away hurt so much...

Why did she even want to say that to him anyway? In that regard, she was a schoolgirl with a crush at best, so why did she try saying she _loved_ him? Of course, he didn't want to hear that, especially when the people who are supposed to love you through your entire life was taken away from him at such an early age.

Did she honestly think that he'd make an exception for her? Her, of all people? The one who had repeatedly forced her way into his life despite his repeated objections.

And why would she do that? Especially after she learned about his... condition.

Maybe that _single_ time at Yakushima was a circumstantial thing like she had thought before? Maybe only his other more submissive self was the one with feelings-

No... The look in his eyes when he left. The look of one who was willingly butchering his own heart, forcing himself to go through agonizing pain that he easily cursed himself for moments later... All of that proved there was genuine affection with him, too.

But did that matter anymore? He didn't have any intention of pursuing anything with her, and who could blame him, honestly?

Funny... She thought being his friend might help him open up, but then she not only discovered about his _other_ side and then to complicate things further, she just had to fall for him too...

Hell, which side has she even fallen for? Makoto? Minato? Both? Where did the line separating the two begin and end?

God, what the hell was wrong with her? She's known him for four months and she confessed her love for him.

Honestly, a blunt and cold rejection would've been so much more preferred over what happened. At least then, she never would've known she was hurting him too...

You stitch a cut.

You put a broken limb in a cast.

You give a sick person medicine.

You get glasses for bad vision.

When you're sad, you go to your happy place.

When you're angry, you take it out on something, preferably something productive.

When you're scared, you muster up everything you have to conquer your fears.

What the hell are you supposed to do when your heartaches? Just wait? It's a mixture of so many emotions at once...

 _God, I'm such a drama queen..._ She chastised herself as she put her head down and sighed.

Why was she acting as she lost her one true love or something? She was rejected, that's just how life was...

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So why would the feeling just go away?

He had every right to say no.

He had every reason to say no.

She knew from the start that pursuing this could cause her emotions to cloud her judgement, something that was only exemplified last night!

Despite knowing all of his issues, she _still_ thought it was a good idea to share her feelings _and_ she even was about to go as far and say that she loved him...

It was wrong! Everything... Everything she did and forced him to experience was wrong... How she was currently acting was wrong...

So why?

Why did it still hurt so much?

Why is it no matter what she told herself, deep down she still wanted to keep trying?

Why is it that despite knowing that she had rushed everything, every part of her told her that everything she felt was true?

Why is it that despite knowing that she was hurting him now, she still wanted him by her side?

Why?

* * *

_**Paulownia Mall** _

_You're pathetic!_ Minato screamed at Makoto which had been continuing ever since he left Kotone all by herself.

 _I know..._ Makoto didn't even fight it. Every part of him wanted to say 'yes', but he knew that doing so would cause far more harm than good. It was better this way... Or was that just what he kept telling himself?

It's not like they could just pretend it didn't happen. Whether they liked it or not, things weren't going to be the same as they once were.

But at the same time, he couldn't just cut her out of the life she forced herself into.

It was pretty ironic. He tried to keep her out of his life, now he doesn't want her to go...

No, it was better to suffer the pain now than later! She was a member of SEES, it was better to cut ties while he still could... before it became something he'd never be able to take back.

But the look of pure heartbreak on her face, though...

Dammit, why did he even care in the first place?! He's hurt countless people before! He can still remember the feeling of cracking bones when he tortured that one boy to death a few weeks ago, this should've been nothing!

Rejections? He's done plenty of them without a moment of hesitation. It didn't matter how much courage it must've taken for them to muster up to say it, the result was always the same.

It honestly became a little game at some point. For amusement, he'd sometimes lead them on only to completely shatter their heart despite any consequences.

Broken hearts, pools of tears, constantly screaming... It meant nothing to him. He didn't even care when he lead-on and crushed a girl's heart despite knowing how unstable she was becoming mentally.

The day she finally had enough and with him being the straw that broke the camel's back, he barely glanced at her when he saw her body which had jumped from the school roof.

Yet now... Now it hurts... It hurt like hell. It was just as bad as when she did something simple like holding his hand. He enjoyed it, but deep down... Deep down there was agony. The worst type of agony imaginable... It was like he was experiencing the pain of reuniting with his family only to have them burn in front of him again...

No, now it's not as bad... It so, so, so much worse... Before he could just focus on her odd but upbeat attitude to distract him, but now... Now it was just hanging over him constantly...

 _Running away, are we? Guess you'll never change, will you?_ Minato continued to mock his dominant self.

 _Leave me alone._ Makoto mentally told his other self with a sigh. Over and over he was berated by a dead man of all things... When will his suffering just end? He's already been suffering for ten years straight. When would whatever God there was have mercy?

He wasn't a good person, not by a long shot... But when would enough be enough? Was there some grand lesson to all this pain? Was he the victim of the whim of some god of fate? Was there even a god to blame for all this?

All these questions, and he'll likely never have an answer.

Even with all these questions clouding his mind, he still took the time to sit next to a familiar girl with a dagger in her hair.

"Hey, Chidori..." Makoto greeted, almost as if he was greeting an old friend despite the two barely know each other "... How're you doing?"

Chidori who had been drawing didn't even stop to glance at him "... What do you want?" she asked, not possessing the same uncharacteristically friendly tone Makoto had

"Too many things I'll never have." Makoto let out an empty chuckle in response while leaning back into the bench "How's Strega doing? Heard your last time to kill SEES didn't go so well."

"Why do you care?" Chidori responded with another question, wary as to what the boy's motives might be

"Just curious..." He answered before sighing "What would you do if someone you cared about also cared about you the same way, but you knew that it'd end horribly?"

For one reason or another, that seemed to strike a nerve that caused Chidori to stop drawing instantly "Why?" she asked, her voice suspicious, but there was also a hint of something else in there too.

"I see..." He didn't even to question it further, he could tell from her voice alone "Heh, not like I can blame you for that then."

"Why did you even come back?" She asked as she began drawing again

"You don't like me, eh? "Makoto asked wryly before leaning forward, "I dunno, not like you make an effort to hide," he said before realizing just how absurd all this was.

How desperate was he that he was talking to one of the people that want him dead? He would've gone to Pharos had the little guy had any experience in such matters, but still, this was a new type of low for him.

Left with nothing else, the boy went back home.

* * *

_**Home** _

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Dripping... Such a strange sound isn't it? The sound of liquid falling and hitting whatever it lands on... So strange. No real variation, just drip, drip, drip...

Makoto felt the sensation of his body starting to go cold as the blood continued to drip from his arm. It was a good thing that this was a controlled wound in a controlled environment, otherwise, he might've died from doing this a long time ago.

Moments like this, he honestly wondered if continued living was truly worth it. More and more he's forced to experiencing agonizing pain, what could a life like that be worth?

It wasn't like it mattered. For the most part, he was nigh-immortal to the point it was more of a fault than anything.

For better or worse, Pharos refused to ever let the boy die. He kept the boy from whatever harm he could, but this ironically leads to his self harming instead...

The world truly enjoyed irony, didn't it?

_Knock. Knock._

"You in there?" A familiar girl asked from the other side

" _Shit!_ " Makoto whispered as his wound healed and he put his sleeve down.

"Coming!" He shouted as he grabbed the bowl that'd been used to catch his blood, nearly stumbling more than a few times as his body readjusted to losing and than having so much blood at once, and poured the blood-filled bowl's contents down the drain.

With the evidence disposed of, Makoto opened his door and was greeted by the annoying brunette archer and the short high priestess.

"What do you want?" He asked, how many times had Yukari confronted him now? At least Fuuka was here for some variation, though he wasn't in the mood for any games.

"You were with Kotone-chan last night, right?" Fuuka asked, her voice sounding as concerned and gentle as usual.

The moment he heard her name, Makoto's face went from stoic to extremely pained as he broke eye contact. Should've known she'd be hurting from that too, of course, SEES would come to learn what happened to their friend and leader.

"..." He couldn't bear to say the words, but his face said it all. Dammit, what was going on? Normally he was nigh-unreadable, but now...

Yukari forced her way inside his apartment and pushed him to the side hard enough that there was a banging noise as he hit the wall next to him. Yup, she was pissed off.

"What the hell did you do to her?!" Yukari demanded an answer, forgoing any sort of politeness or niceties that Fuuka possessed.

Makoto rubbed his back as well as he could for a moment before facing the pink archer "Why're you so quick to assume whatever happened was my fault?"

"Don't hand me that! It's written all over your face!" Yukari continued to yell, disregarding what any of Makoto's neighbors might think. "Ever since she came home last night, she's looked like her heat had been shattered!"

"Yukari-chan!" Fuuka gasped, shocked by how aggressive her friend had become over this.

"What do you _think_ happened, dumbass?" He asked, her anger not fazing him but imagining a girl who smiles so often looking so heartbroken... "I stopped her from making a terrible, terrible mistake. Saved her from doing something she'd regret doing in the long run."

There was a brief silence as the two girls quickly pieced together what that meant.

"You mean you..." Fuuka was hesitant to finish the sentence, thanks to Kotone it was no secret that Makoto had a volatile temper and she didn't want to risk setting it off.

Yukari, however, had no such concerns. If he had simply rejected her because he didn't share her feelings, she'd be able to understand... But that wasn't the case. All the pain in his eyes, his refusal to say exactly what happened... He was running away. And to her, there were few things worse than someone who runs away from their problems.

"You're a coward!" She screamed at him "A fucking coward!"

For whatever reason, it looked as if such a basic insult managed to hit a sore spot in the normally thick-skinned Makoto Yuki.

Makoto's already pained eyes looked as if he had just... Just died. No, they reflected what was truly in his heart... Nothing more than pure despair.

Makoto didn't even have the will to insult her or even roll his eyes at the comment. All he could say was "... More than you know." As to what he meant by that was something only he and Pharos knew.

"Ugh, you're unbelievable!" Yukari shouted as she slapped him across the face before leaving. Some might say she overreacted, but she didn't care. Kotone was her best friend and it was painful seeing her normally upbeat friend so heartbroken.

Makoto slowly rubbed the handprint that was quickly forming as a bruise on his face "I know."

Fuuka wasn't so cold-hearted, however, "Do you need some ice?" she asked concerned, having heard from some boys in school how hard Yukari slaps.

"No need." He said as he put his hand down revealing the bruise to already be gone completely.

Fuuka was an innocent person at heart, just like...

"She'll get better, right?" Makoto asked, sounding more like he was trying to convince herself "I mean, come on, people get rejected all the time."

"I don't think that's why she's hurting so much, Makoto-kun." Fuuka said, taking it upon herself to explain as best she could "Kotone-chan always tries so hard to make everyone happy. I don't want to make assumptions, but it seems like she's hurting you more than she's helping you."

Makoto didn't say anything, he simply lowered his head. Minato wasn't taking over, simply knowing that she was trying so hard and all he'd given her in return is a broken heart.

"I know you haven't known each other very long, but... I think she does love you." She said something that everyone had now known, but inadvertently made every single curse that Minato had said along with all the painful emotions he was feeling so much worse

Makoto shook his head slowly "I wish she didn't." he said before raising his head to meet one of the now three members of SEES he had any respect for "Get outta here, Fuuka. I wanna be alone."

Without raising any objections, Fuuka nodded before leaving and shutting the door behind. On the way out she had to apologize to some of the neighbors who had become either annoyed or concerned from Yukari's earlier screaming.

"Coward, huh?" Makoto said to himself in his empty home. Not even Pharos was talking, for the little boy had no idea what to say without making the situation worse.

"Fits me perfectly..." he continued as he grabbed another bowl and chair and began to bleed again "A coward who's less than a dog... I guess that is what I am." he continued to curse himself.

_"Minato..!"_


	31. Chapter 31

_**Home** _

"Heh..." Makoto let out a light chuckle as he contributed to his odd habit and placed another plushie next to Jack O' Lantern and Jack Frost. This one was called Black Frost, supposedly an evil version of Jack Frost and another form for a persona funnily enough.

He always found this one to be a little creepy, but _she_ always loved the little guy just like she loved little Pyro Jack himself.

"You always liked the strangest things, didn't you?" He asked though he didn't expect an answer. To answer would be to have mercy and to have mercy would be to show a sign of benevolence in a malevolent world.

She was gone forever and he's cursed to never die. Forever would he be cursed to relive that day in his dreams all by himself?

Alone.

Alone.

Alone.

Alone.

_Alone._

Such a depressing word, isn't it? Though he wasn't completely alone as Pharos was always with him, the boy seldom added any real comfort despite his efforts.

Then again, he did ask for this in away. He pushed everyone out of his life, even the various families that adopted and at least tried to love him even if the ended up sending him back eventually.

If he was alone, he felt nothing. Feeling nothing was one of the main reasons he still preceded to cut himself as to remind him of what pain feels like.

Pain.

Such a _painful_ word even in name. Though, was pain on its own all that bad? If you hurt when you lose something, it helps you realize how much you truly cared about it.

But the pain Makoto inflicted upon himself was nothing more than an empty pain. Cold metal slicing through warm flesh and the feeling of blood trickling down before dripping didn't help you learn or find value in anything; It was just pure pain. Pure pain that any human can feel as long as they're alive; Proof that he hasn't become nothing.

Of course, there's the matter of the pain that was felt by his foundation and amplified by him and his isolation, and that was of the loss he suffered years ago.

But what lesson was there to be learned that? He knew his loved his family and now they were gone. The sense of loss was made all the worse when he learned that he was all but unable to die as well now.

And now, he grew to care about Pharos far too much as he had been his means of disrupting his complete isolation filled with nothing more than pain and misery. Despite knowing what he was, he even grew the love the boy like he loved the thing that was taken away from him.

Love.

A comforting word that was. Words such as that made Makoto wonder if the words were said and assigned meaning or the other way around as both word and meaning fit each other perfectly.

For something that everyone knows and seeks, it's also something that no one can quite describe. Such a strange thing... Was it nothing more than chemicals? Was it also trust? Was it pure trust? What separated it from desire? So many questions...

Such as, how do you tell true love from false love? Not in the sense that someone is trying to fool you, but in the sense that they end up fooling themselves?

He loved his family and he would give his life just for a few seconds of seeing them again. It didn't matter if he couldn't interact with them or anything, but merely seeing them in a form different from the one burned into his brain would satisfy him.

This love was true.

But then that left... her. What was it?

Upon reflection, how much time had they truly spent with one another? What was that sort of bond even based off? A single isolated circumstance on a beach?

That wasn't true, not on her side... But it wasn't something that she knew either so he couldn't hate her for it.

She forced his way into his life and refused to back down despite his protest, she was dedicated to trying to help him... Who's to say she began confusing her feelings? I'd make sense, wouldn't it?

Always forgiving him. Always pushing through all of his efforts to push her away. Why she became so enamored with him so quickly.

That's not to say she wasn't in love, but it wasn't from what she thought.

She didn't love him, she loved the idea of helping him... Just like she helps everyone else.

But where'd that leave him? True or false?

Did he love her because he loved her?

Did he simply love the comfort that always came from her?

Did he love the memories of _her_ that sometimes came when he was around her?

Did he simply love that she listened?

Were all these just qualities about her he loved or were they what he loved?

"Ugh..." Makoto grunted to himself in small amounts of frustration. Was it this confusing for everyone or was it supposed to be confusing?

The bluenette took another glance at the plushies on his table "Wonder what you'd say, sis..." He wondered, but never expected an answer.

Without saying another word, the boy silently left his home again having delivered the item he wanted. Now... Now he just needed to find a nice place to think and get his mind off everything.

* * *

_**Dorm** _

Aigis stood in front of the door outside of Kotone's room in silence. It's been a few nights since and Kotone was still preferring solitude over social interaction, something that was very abnormal of her.

She had heard from Yukari that Kotone had tried sharing her feelings with Makoto, but was rejected instead of reciprocated. She had known that such times could be sad, but why did Kotone seem like she was in so much pain?

From the data she had acquired from the others, they had only met a few months ago. Why was it that Kotone had developed such strong emotions for him in such a short period?

Furthermore, this meant that Makoto was responsible for her leader's unstable emotional state.

It was situations like this that she was left uncertain of what to do. She was under orders to not engage him, for while his manners were something to be desired, he had done nothing to actively harm SEES or anyone else from what they knew so far.

He was... A threat. He was very dangerous. She didn't know why and she might not ever, but every single alarm system within her goes off on full alert whenever she sees the boy.

Then, there were times when he wasn't. At times, he was simply a normal human boy who was no more of a threat than any other human was.

But the fact remains he still hurt Kotone. It didn't matter who he was, threat or not, such action was unforgivable. She was under orders not to kill him, but her systems could override those orders if the evidence is found that confirms that he is a threat.

Did this qualify as evidence? Why did she want any sort of reason to eliminate the boy? What was the reason behind her innate hostility? Was there even a reason?

Whatever the case, Kotone's emotional state remained the same. Unless it is changed, drastic action may be required.

...

...

...

"Kotone-chan, you in there?" Fuuka asked as she knocked on her leader's door. It was noon now and she was still inside her room which was very unusual of her since she was typically an early bird.

Without a word from the other side, the sound of a lock being fiddled with before the knob began to turn and the door slowly opened.

"Yeah, Fuuka?" Kotone greeted, her tone was hollow and flat, the same could be said about her face which lacked the vibrancy that it usually had in exchange for full of listlessness instead.

"We're all worried about you," Fuuka answered genuinely with large and obvious amounts of solicitude in her voice. "You've been spending all your time in your room for the past few days"

"It's nothing." She said while shaking her head slowly, her voice was barely above a whisper right now. It was almost like whatever kept her energetic fire going had been snuffed out.

"Can you at least come down, please." Fuuka pleaded with her leader "At least comedown and eat something, you haven't had anything all day."

As if on cue, Kotone's stomach growled loudly, having been deprived of the sustenance it desired.

"Oh, I guess your right," Kotone said as she gently rubbed her stomach. If there was any indication that something was wrong, it was the fact that _Kotone_ of all people was reacting nonchalantly to not eating. The same girl who was a large contributing factor as to why the fridge was always stuffed to the brim downstairs.

As per the request of her subordinate, Kotone went down the stairs and sat at the table where everyone else had gathered for idle conversation.

"... Hey," She greeted weakly as she took a seat, Fuuka running off to make her something having learned how to at least passable food with her leader's help.

Suddenly, all eyes were on her as everyone took note of everything about their leader was just... wrong.

Kotone always had a bright outlook, a bright smile on her face, and a warm atmosphere suddenly made the entire area feel nothing short of gloomy and dismal as his vibrant red eyes now seemed to lack the spark they once had.

"Hey, you alright Ko-tan?" Junpei asked, even someone as high-spirited and tireless as he was affected by this massive change in mood. The only time he saw things kind of complete one-eighty was during that brief time when Makoto was staying at the dorm.

"I'm fine Junpei," Kotone said with her eyes staring off into space and only half paying attention to any of them.

Mitsuru quickly saw that this was getting them nowhere and decided to go for a different approach "Shiomi, shouldn't we resume our expeditions into Tartarus? With the full moon approaching, we should begin preparing."

Kotone hummed as if she was thinking for a moment before saying "You should do that."

"Agreed..." Mitsuru said smiling proudly, finally gaining some sort of progress "... Shall we go tonight?"

"I dunno. As I said, _you_ should do that." Kotone replied, this time emphasizing the 'you' in her sentence.

Mitsuru slowly blinked in shock as everyone else gasped in shock at what had just left her mouth. Did... Did she just suggest that they go to Tartarus without her?

No.. Was... Was not only her mood, but her faith in herself crippled as well?

"W-What're you saying?" Fuuka asked as she reentered the room the moment she heard those words from the kitchen.

"You've always been our leader!" Yukari pointed out while jumping out of her chair in shock, she knew that she wasn't taking the rejection well but... How could it have been this bad?

"If we do not have our squad leader, we will be at a significant disadvantage in combat," Aigis said using nothing more than pure logic to try and change Kotone's mind.

"It's better if you guys rely on me less... In case I screw up or something." Kotone said while supporting her head with her elbow while looking down at the table.

The way she was making it sound... It was less like she was feeling terrible about being rejected and more like she was feeling as if she had failed at something important. What the hell was going on in her head?

"Kotone, what's going on?" Akihiko asked upfront wanting to get to the bottom of whatever it was that was bothering her.

This, however, had the opposite effect and caused Kotone to suddenly jolt out of her seat and slam her fist on the table "I said _nothing, goddammit!_ Now, will everyone just stop asking?!" She screamed, lashing out at them after three days of simply shrugging off their concerns.

Just as quickly as her anger came, it quickly faded away into a deep regret that caused her to have an extremely penitent look on her face "I'm sorry..." she apologized with a voice that was so fragile it made glass seem like a stone in comparison.

"I'm... I'm going to go head out for a bit." Kotone said before leaving the room with her head hung low, she stays at the table ending much faster than it came. Whatever emotions were going through that head of hers was a mystery to everyone except the redhead herself.

The entire team sighed as they shared their leader's pain. In a way, she was what kept the team together and to see her so dreary was almost life-sapping for everyone.

Suddenly, a strange smell began to fill the room.

Fuuka gasped "I forgot!" she screamed before running to the kitchen before she could accidentally set the dorm on fire. She may have learned a lot from Kotone, but that didn't mean it was a good idea to let her cook alone.

Even after seeing her run top speed screaming, no one was in the mood to have a small playful laugh at Fuuka's oversight. No, whereas Kotone normally brought life to the entire dorm, she now seemed to be sucking the life out of it.

The look on her face the whole time... It couldn't have just been the fact that she was rejected once by one guy that was bothering her so much, could it?

The way she was seemingly just giving up right now as if she had no faith in herself... What part of rejection could've caused it to be that severe? It was less as if her feelings weren't requited and were more as if she had failed at something.

Did she fail at something? That's the only that any of them could think of that could've destroyed her self-confidence this badly, but what? Was she always this self-conscious about her abilities as a leader and the rejection was just the breaking point? What was going on?

Whatever it was, they were going to have to hope that the one that made her like this could undo the damage he's done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, right, uh... there's something I should mention. Around this time when writing... I was going through some things and I was around OTHER people going through some things. In other words, everything involving Kotone here has A LOT of reality subtext that I will not explain. Some relates to me—most don't.


	32. Chapter 32

_**Paulownia Mall** _

Almost as if he'd been called there, Makoto made his way through the mall with his earphones on until entering the one particular place he desired to be.

 _What am I doing here?_ Makoto thought to himself as he took a seat at a nearby table, the strong aroma of coffee filled the air as he glanced around the cafe. It was only fitting that he'd be here after what happened, this _was_ the first place they went after he ended up getting blackmailed.

Strangely, the place brought an odd sense of comfort as he continued to listen to his earphones and looked down at the table, partly hoping that he'd be able to zone out completely until the Dark Hour hit.

Try as he might, there was once voice that he'd never escape.

 _Oh, yes, sitting around. You seem to be quite the master of that._ Minato taunted, his voice remaining as a whisper that echoed from within his(their?) head. _Run and hide. Need I remind you where that's gotten us?_

 _Never._ Makoto ended his conversation with himself as quickly as it began. He knew exactly what he was talking about and it was something that he was going to have to live with for the rest of his days. Of course, there were only two people in this world that knew what happened.

From within himself, he felt Pharos' growing anxiety over his friend's condition growing. The little boy certainly could be overprotective at times. Still, it was nice that Makoto still had someone who worried about his well being.

But that comfort wasn't going to solve anything this time. No, there was only one thing that was going to do that.

He didn't know how long he had been there with him being zoned out and looking down, but he did notice a small cup on the table that wasn't his despite no one has asked to sit at the table.

"I wanted a quiet place to think other than my home," Makoto said with a melancholy voice as he took his earphone out, still looking down at the table.

"I kicked myself out when I yelled at my friends for asking if I was okay." She answered with the same amount of melancholia in her as well.

Their short banter was then replaced with an uncomfortable silence that traded tension for a sense of despondency being present within both of their hearts. Neither of them was expecting this to end very well, but it had to be done.

Kotone gently extended her right index finger and traced it along the top of the table before retracted it and doing it all over again. The silence between them was almost as painful as everything that's lead up to this point.

Makoto continued looking down; His eyes continuing to stare off blankly into nothing. Despite this, the silence was much torture as it was for him too. Minato was urging him to say something, but what was he supposed to say?

Both of them had completely tuned everything else out. Even after an hour had passed, the silence was still going as strong as when it had first begun. Even though by now many other customers had come and made the place a little rowdy, the two remained exactly how they were.

After constant pleading from Minato, Makoto finally took a deep breath before asking one of the biggest questions that we're still in his mind "Are you mad?"

Kotone's finger stopped in place and she slowly shook her head "I don't think so..." she answered and the silence was quickly beginning to return.

Unwilling to let this be for nothing, Kotone then asked "... Has it been painful for you, too?"

"Very." He said while nodding slowly, but still unwilling to look up enough to look at her. He couldn't... He didn't have the strength nor the will to see her sad face again "For what it's worth... I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize; I already said I'm not mad." She assured him, not seeing any of this as his fault. After all, she's the one who had to ruin something that was already working just fine as it was, "Shouldn't I be the one sorry?"

"You didn't do anything wrong though." Makoto could tell just by the sound of her voice that she'd been blaming herself for what has happened as well.

"Guess your right." She said while shrugging as if she was unsure if she believes those words. There's one thought that's been on her mind for a while now though, something she's wondered ever since he ran from her "... Am I not good enough?"

"Huh?" Forgetting anything else, Makoto looked up confused why she would think such a thing and saw that the entire time she'd been crying silent tears.

"It's alright if that's why... I won't be mad." Kotone said, even with how much that sentence must hurt she still forced herself to smile emptily.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Makoto asked as his melancholia was replaced with a deep concerned that very few have been able to draw out before.

Kotone continued to smile an empty smile and closed her eyes as she slowly shook her head again "God, you're such an idiot."

When she opened her eyes again there was a poor replica of the life that normally resided in them, instead replaced with the same hollowness her smile possessed.

"I'm talking about when you left me, dummy." She said with an undoubtedly feigned giggle.

"Kotone..." Makoto sighed, he didn't know if it honestly would've been worse to have just said yes with everything he's watching her suffer through.

"No?" Kotone said as she tilted her head in confusion, but still keeping the expression that was an unholy mixture of feigned happiness, sadness, depression, and pain all in one. "Why then?"

Out of the blue, Makoto stood from his seat and walked to the one Kotone was sitting across the table. "Scoot." He ordered, if he was going to say this, then he had to be sure that she understood everything he said.

Not bothering to put up a fight, Kotone scooted right of her booth seat and allowed him to sit next to her which also inadvertently trapped her in. Clever Makoto, he made sure that she couldn't run like he did while leaving the option open to him should his situation go dire. He certainly was smarter than he looked.

"So why, Makoto-kun?" Kotone asked, her face returning to an almost complete blank save only for her eyes which were now filled with curiosity as to what Makoto was about to say "You know, I meant what I said. I-"

"No, you don't; Trust me." He interrupted, acting as if he had stated the most basic fact in the entire world.

Kotone, however, gasped in shock the moment he said such a thing "No, Makoto-kun, I-"

"You're not." He said as he shook his head slowly almost as if he was hurting inside saying this, but knew it was for the best "Think about it. You might know me better than most, but that's not saying much. Everything you're basing your feelings off of is just one incident on a beach, otherwise, such an idea would never come to you. The only reason you stayed with me this long was that you like helping people."

Makoto sighed again and gazed into her eyes that shined as if they were made of rubies, hoping to God that he wasn't about to regret his next words "You aren't in love with me; You're in love with broken things. Worse they are, the most you can help, and _that_ is what you love."

"I..." Kotone gasped again but also had the same look of heartbreak that she had just a few nights ago. She slowly lowered her head and Makoto could tell she was about to cry again.

"..." Makoto kept his silence as he looked down again at his folded hands. He didn't like doing this... Not by a long shot, but he knew that it was better this way. Not only in terms of the future, but the relationship would've been based on a lie she'd convinced herself of.

"I'm... sorry." She murmured so softly that despite being next to her, even Makoto could barely hear her.

"Huh?" He had just been the one who had the guts to tell her how she feels and rejected her a few nights ago. What did _she_ have to be sorry for? Being confused?

"I must've... It hurt so much..." She shook her head as if she was condemning herself "... And all because I'm so selfish, right?"

"What?" Makoto asked completely confused before Kotone suddenly grabbed him and began to cry on his shoulder "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." she repeated

"W-What the..?" Makoto replayed everything that had happened in his mind. Why was she so angry at herself? Shouldn't she be pissed at him for telling her how to feel?

The sudden change of events caught a few eyes, but a quick glare from Makoto and a sudden feeling as if the temperature was several degrees lower and they looked away to mind their own business again.

"You felt all that because I... dammit, I'm so selfish, aren't I?" She asked as she continued to cry and mutter apologies

What? _She_ was the selfish one? Did the entire just flip on his head or something? What was going on?

 _This... We need to go. We're making everything hard than it should be._ Makoto thought as he gently grasped the arms that were holding him

 _Don't you dare!_ Minato screamed at him which made the bluenette freeze _We got her like this and we'll get her out, damn you! Don't run like-_

"Kotone..." Makoto gently held onto her face and made turned her head so that her tearful red eyes met his downcast blue-grey ones "... Why would you think that?"

"You don't get it, do you?" She let out an empty laugh as if she was almost amused by his confusion "Everything you've just said... It's not the only lie I tell myself." she sobbed

"What the hell are you-"

"People always like to say how nice I am and how I always want to help others with their issues... None of it's true, not really..." She explained through her weak voice and sniveling "Told you my mother left me, right?"

"Yes." Makoto nodded, whatever will he had left to run was ebbing away more and more with each passing moment "You said you didn't think much of it since you were only five."

"I lied... I think about it every day." She confessed "Remember how happy I got when you said I was a good leader? That's because I can't stop thinking, 'Why did she leave me?'"

Makoto continued to listen carefully (along with warding off unwanted eyes) as he thought about what she had just said. His family was taken away against their will in the worst way possible, but her mother completely abandoned her. She still had her father, but having just a single parent can still leave some damage.

"Because of that, nothing I do ever seems like enough... I always feel like I'm failing somehow..." She kept naming her list of confessions as her eyes closed; they were too hard to keep open after all the tears had been shed "So I go get as many friends as I can while claiming I just wanna help them... I just wanna hear 'You're so great, Ko-chan' or 'You're the best' or... Or even being with someone because I thought I was... I... I just wanted something... anything to feel good about myself..."

Kotone finally let Makoto go and backed away slightly before raising her head and opening her red ruby eyes to meet his again "I'm a horrible person, aren't I? Just like you said, I only like broken things to make myself feel better. I even went far enough to say _that_ to you without even realizing it's all a lie that I kept telling myself... I..."

At this point, Kotone was struggling between trying to talk and choking back more tears that wanted to fall "I'm an awful person... Being a leader, having a special power... Everything... I don't deserve any of it."

"You're lying to yourself again." He couldn't help himself... To hell with what would be better in the long run, he couldn't wait long enough to kill Kirijo with this on his conscience.

"What're you talking about..? You just said-" Kotone stopped talking the moment the boy in front of her place three of his fingers of her lips

"I don't blame you for that being a reason, but I know that's not your only reason." He said with confidence. If she truly as selfish as she claimed to be, then she wouldn't have been feeling this right now, "Remember back with Lovers? Despite my being a complete dick most of the time, you still held onto me until I calmed down. Remember when Yukari saw the video and I had to tell you to go? If what you said was true, then you would've jumped at the chance without being asked."

"T-Then what?" She asked in a slightly slurred voice from all the crying she had done as she took the fingers off her lips "We're both wrong? Am I just more of a screwed up person than I thought?"

"God, you're an idiot." He repeated the same words that she had said to him just a few moments ago "You're a good person. Some of your reasons for what you do aren't so pure, but I know you do them in the end because it's the right thing to do. If you don't trust yourself, then at least trust me." He pleaded as he gently cupped her face "... Do you?"

Pausing for a moment as if trying to process those words and thinking about them carefully, Kotone slowly nodded "... I... I don't want to go home... I don't want to see them yet. Just... not tonight."

Makoto looked at the watch on his wrist. It'd been early in the afternoon when he got there, now it was about time for the sun to set. Did their time in silence last that long?

There are millions of reasons why he shouldn't, but Makoto cast them aside for this one moment "How about this..?"

* * *

_**Home** _

"Home sweet home, huh?" Makoto said as he guided Kotone to where he'd been spending his last few days and to the sofa that was still standing in front of the TV like always.

Kotone didn't say anything, she just silently sat down with her head down as Makoto sat beside her.

True love, false love, it didn't matter to him. Either way, this girl still meant something to him to and he couldn't leave her suffering like that. Either way, she held something no one should've had the right to have... Something that was tainted and darker than the blackest midnights.

"Feeling any better?" Makoto asked an uncharacteristically large amount of concern was in his voice. The look in his eyes and voice was still the same, though... None of this was Minato, all of this was him and only him.

"A little," Kotone said, her voice and expression had gone from heartbroken to solely be downcast. She trusted Makoto enough to believe him, but that didn't change what she was still feeling within herself.

Makoto sighed, she was still feeling dejected from everything. He didn't know what to do anymore. He wanted to do something with her, but what? What could he do without hurting her more than he already had?

"Makoto-kun..." Kotone called out to him as she slowly turned her head towards him "... what are we anymore?"

Makoto could only shrug slowly and say "I don't know... Probably a word for it somewhere." He answered as honestly as he could. Whatever they were, she was precious to him and he couldn't let her leave... not now.

There were so many reasons for him to cut ties with her now... But he couldn't. Selfish, selfless, whatever her reasons for it, she was the first person who tried so hard to reach out to someone as irreversibly screwed up like him. He knew he'd regret this, but for now... For now, he couldn't let her suffer.

Now, Makoto was the one looking down with a downhearted look in his eyes "... Whatever we are, I still want you in my life." He let out a brief empty chuckle "I don't know why, and there are so many reasons I shouldn't... But I don't want to lose you. You mean a lot to me, and I want you to stay."

Kotone turned back to him, still looking as weak as she'd been for the past few days "Promise?"

 _I'm going to hate myself for this..._ Makoto thought as he raised his right hand and even went as far as to extend his right pinkie finger.

She let out a soft chuckle in surprise as she extended her own, and the two of them interlocked with each other.

"Promise." The two said together with faint smiles on their faces. Whatever may happen in the future, with this they were tied together in whatever happens next whether it'd be good or ill.

...

...

...

...

"Mm..." Kotone softly groaned before slowly revealing her crimson red eyes which after days of despondency, were finally back to their usual vibrant selves.

The redhead took a moment to study her surroundings as she slowly put the many things that had happened yesterday in her head.

Currently, she was in Makoto's apartment on his sofa. At some point during the night, she fell asleep and he had put a blanket on her to keep her warm. Before that, she had just made some as childish as a pinkie promise with Makoto of all people.

The girl reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out her phone to find that most of her dorm members had blown up her phone last night with a lot of messages and missed calls. She was going to have to apologize and explain everything later... leaving out a few unsavory details, of course.

Kotone got off the sofa and let out a long yawn as she slowly stretched her arms until she felt her stomach grumble. With everything that had happened yesterday, she had managed to have forgotten to eat anything for the first time in her entire sixteen years of living.

Come to think of it, maybe Makoto/Minato would be willing to make her something if she asked?

With this thought in mind, Kotone tiptoed her way down the small hallway and into what she assumed to be his bedroom. If he was still asleep, then she was just going to have to simply raid his fridge whether he liked it or not.

When she slowly turned the knob and the door slowly creaked open, she was greeted by the sight of Makoto/Minato panting heavily as he laid in bed.

Confused, she silently approached closer to ascertain what was going on.

There, she saw that despite being asleep, Makoto had a pained look on his face as he repeatedly thrashed around in his bed while his body was drenched in a cold sweat. After several moments, Makoto began whimpering as if he was in some sort of deep pain before mumbling "Mina...ko..."

Kotone could only blink and stand there in silence as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. The boy even scratched himself a few times deep enough that it drew blood, but his innate healing abilities always kicked in and stopped the wound dead in its tracks.

 _Minako?_ Kotone repeated internally as she tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together. That sounded similar to 'Minato'.

Thinking back on it, he'd also mentioned that the plushies he collected were a sort of remembrance of someone else who was very dear to him. Was this person Minako? And if she was, then who exactly was she to him and why was Makoto's other self's name so similar to hers? Was her name the basis for his? Was there some other reason?

Whatever the case, figuring it out could wait. Kotone silently stepped outside the bluenette's room and gently closed the door behind her. She didn't know what they were anymore, nor did she have any idea what she had gotten herself into, but... She had to do something.

Even though she still had doubts about herself, she had to trust him and what he said to her. Whatever hell the future may bring, they were bound to one another in a bond that not even their link could comprehend. She could only hope that this wouldn't cause anything horrible in the days to come...


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, I just remembered what I'm approaching! Aw fuck! Oh no... why? Shit, shit, shit, shit...

_**Home** _

"... Mmmmm..." Makoto continued to whimper weakly as he continued to toss and turn in his bed. Try as he might, the sleeping bluenette could not find comfort while under Hypnos' embrace. Instead of peaceful slumber, the same event that had haunted him the previous nights began to replay in his mind once again.

The smell of gasoline permeated the air. That, and the smell of smoke as a fire began to burn from the gas that'd been spilled onto the road.

Makoto turned to his side, still whimpering and began to claw at his arm again until it pleads and Pharos was forced to heal his unconsciously self-mutilating friend. Whether this was just another unconscious action taken that he performed while sleeping or some desperate plea to wake up and end the nightmare was unknown.

Chains... There was the sound of rattling chains nearby. Despite the fire, the entire area felt like it was several degrees lower than what it was just a few moments ago. The sound of the chains was overshadowed only by the gunshots, one of which might've been what ignited the fire.

Makoto's panting suddenly began to become heavier as if he'd been forced to run a marathon. His fringe began to stick to his brow as a result of the cold sweat that had covered his entire body.

The worst... By far the worse were the screams. The screams of just one person... So much screaming... Screaming just one name... Begging for just one person to come and save her... The fire began to get closer and closer until...

Makoto's eyes shot open just seconds before the horrific images could replay in his mind again. The boy screamed as he jumped out of bed in a frantic and terrified motion with his heart pounding as if he'd been forced to confront the Devil himself.

The boy took several steps backward until his back hit the wall, his body which was already freezing from the sweat was even colder when it touched the lifeless surface.

Before Makoto could properly grasp what had happened, he heard loud knocking coming from the other side of his door at a pace that made it seem like the person in question was concerned over what had just occurred.

"Makoto-kun..." A familiar comforting voice called from the other side of the door that began to knock again "... You okay in there?"

The boy sighed as he began to regain his composure and understand what had just happened. Yesterday he had mended his relationship with Kotone (for better or worse) and had just suffered another nightmare.

Of course, he repairs one relation and he's forced to remember the ones that were permanently severed. God truly did have a sense of humor, didn't he?

Still panting slightly, Makoto opened his door slightly to greet the girl who had spent her night here "Yes?"

Kotone took a few moments to look the boy up and down.

He looked like he hadn't slept soundly in years, his body was completely soaked despite the entire apartment being rather cold especially for this time of the year, there were various spots on his arms that had small amounts of dried blood from all the scratching he had done, and the screaming earlier made it clear that he had just gone through some sort of hell before he woke up.

Maybe leaving his room to continue sleeping earlier wasn't such a good idea?

"You don't look so good." She said, trying to lean in closer to get a better look only to retract those movements when he began to slowly close the door in protest "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Makoto answered, completely shrugging off the mental torture his mind had forced him to experience. "Just a nightmare. What're you still doing here?"

"What am I- Did you think I'd just leave the moment I woke up?" Kotone asked somewhat shocked, but with little actual offense taken from the statement.

Makoto blinked as he contemplated his next words "... Is this a trick question?" he asked, wondering if he should answer honestly or not.

Kotone simply gave a completely blank look for several moments as their eyes met "... Shut up and get a shower; You smell horrible."

The boy couldn't help but snicker for a moment in amusement "Yeah, yeah... You better not peak while I'm in there."

"What the hell do you think I am?! A wanton?!" Kotone asked this time she was a bit offended by that. Wait, was this what it was like for Akihiko and Junpei? No wonder they always get annoyed when they're warned.

Makoto hummed as he took a careful look at the girl in front of him "... Yeah, you seem like the type."

Kotone frowned, half-tempted to knock his lights out with that statement alone. But alas, she was still _his_ guest and she did owe him for comforting her yesterday... Not to mention she had played with his heart.

"Just... Get in the shower already." She shook her head slowly as she walked to the kitchen "By the way, while you were asleep I went out and stocked your fridge for you! You better like pancakes!"

Makoto smiled in satisfaction at the redhead's undoubted embarrassment of his statement. Despite how it may have seemed to an outsider's perspective, it was nice to human-company for once.

With that being settled, the bluenette gathered some things and marched off to the shower.

After locking the door behind him out of habit, the boy sat in the tub as the cold water hit his skin. Unlike normal people, his body wasn't affected by the cold all that much thanks to his little friend.

"What do you think I should've done?" Makoto asked as he continued to look down. There was only one person who he could've possibly been talking to.

"I'm not sure," Pharos answered with a shrug as he sat at the opposite side of the tub, still dressed in his old school prisoner-esque outfit and even his usual sandals. Water just seemed to completely phase through him as if he were never there, to begin with.

"Neither am I..." Makoto expressed his confusion which was made all the more clear when he let out a sigh, "Hey, Pharos, what do you think of her? And no perverted shit, please."

"Hmm..."Pharos looked down at his feet as he thought about it for a moment.

At first, he thought that such a relation would be good for Makoto. He'd been with him since the beginning and he knew better than anyone else how his friend's mental state was. He thought that him having feelings for someone other than him would allow him to be happy for once...

But that's not how it'd been happening. Every moment he was with her, he was the only one who could see the hidden pain in his eyes. Every moment with her is just another reminder of the life he'll never be able to have because of everything that was taken away from him.

If the relation continued... What will happen to Makoto?

"I don't know..." Pharos answered as he shook his head slowly, unable to form an opinion on the matter. "What about _him?_ "

 _Nice to see you too, Pharos._ Minato 'said' dryly from within his and Makoto's shared mind. While he didn't have negative feelings for the boy; He didn't revere him like Makoto did, either.

Makoto shook his head again in uncertainty "I don't know if I can keep him at bay much longer. He's been putting up a helluva fight lately."

True to his word, his Minato side had been fighting for control much fiercer than usual ever since last night. At this rate, he was just one screw up away from losing control again.

It was like everything that could go wrong had decided to do so at this moment of his life.

The inheritor had decided to show himself after all of these years of there being no one else but him.

Strega wanted to kill Makoto Yuki while Sakuya Sakugetsu wanted to skill both Makoto Yuki and the mysterious hooded boy.

And to top it off, there was her. He knew there were so many things wrong. He knew that all that would bring is more and more pain. Yet, the foundation he and the inheritor shared didn't seem to care. The more and more he was with her, the more it felt like he-

NO, NO, NO! These thoughts... They weren't his! They will never be his!

All they are are thoughts of a boy who was long dead now. None of it mattered! None of it should even be considered!

She was a member of SEES.

SEES is but another puppet of Kirijo.

And Kirijo -along with all others responsible- must pay for the sins that had been committed against his family. For the countless nights he had been forced into a restless slumber; Forced to remember something that he wished would be burned from his memory for all eternity.

He already knew all of this, but still...

"Dammit..." Makoto silently cursed before turning off the water, figuring he'd been in there long enough now. His body probably felt cold to anyone else, but to him, he felt just like usual.

After dressing in his usual summer attire, Makoto was greeted to the sight of something he hadn't had in quite some time.

Tilting his head almost as if he was in some stage of disbelief, Makoto looked at what had been set on the table with the redhead on the other end wolfing what she had down.

"Whaut?" Kotone asked before swallowing the rest of her breakfast that was still her mouth, "Please tell me it's not that you don't like pancakes." The girl let out an exasperated sigh.

Makoto shook his head "It's not that, just..." the boy slowly sat down, looking as lost as a child during their first day of grade school "... It's been a long time since anyone made me anything." he did his best to explain "I mean, in a dorm and such sure, but... Never in my own home."

"Huh?" Now Kotone was the one tilting her head in confusion. Sure, he _was_ an orphan, but he was still adopted, right? "Don't you have foster parents or anything? Don't they feed you?"

"I am, just..." Makoto sighed before leaning on an elbow and lightly stabbing the pancake that'd been made for him "... We're just a family by law only. At first, they tried, but I guess now we just have a live and let live policy."

"Really?" The girl couldn't help but express some shock to that. It seemed less like he was adopted and more like they just provided a place for him to and nothing else. "Aren't you close to... anyone?"

"Hmm..." Makoto hummed for a moment, but he was drawing a blank. The only person he's close to would be Pharos, but he wouldn't just mention him now could he? "... Guess not. You?"

"Uh..." Kotone thought for a moment. She had loads of friends, but that list would take all day. In terms of home life, all she had was her father after her mother abandoned her over ten years ago.

"Guess I'm pretty much the same." She said while shrugging "I mean, I still have my father but... Well, he still has a job and everything to take care of, so I guess you can say my home life isn't all that great either..."

Makoto muttered something that Kotone couldn't quite catch before looking down idly again as the old feeling of melancholia began to return.

However, there was one far more important matter to take care of...

"Grr..." Kotone sounded like she was growling as she jumped out of her chair and slammed her hands on the table "Now and shut and eat, dammit! I did _not_ go through the effort of making that for nothing."

Makoto blinked rapidly in shock as his mood quickly changed "Uh... O-Okay." he said with a slightly trembling lip before doing as he was ordered.

Kotone smiled as the boy while his 'Makoto' self finally obeyed one of her orders and all she had to do was look scary. Maybe she should use threats more often? Eh, whatever, at least it worked.

...

...

...

"So how long are you going to stay here?" Makoto asked as he moved one of his pieces of the board game they play.

"I dunno" Kotone answered with a shrug "Maybe I'll move in, you seem like you need the company" She suggested before moving her piece "Check"

"Oh, haha." He rolled his eyes, hiding his inner smirk as he moved his piece "But, seriously, what the hell are we doing? I mean... We're playing a fucking board game."

"I thought you liked them!" She pouted as she moved another of her pieces "Plus, it's my chance to kick your ass with my experience of being SEES' leader~... check."

"I said my... friend liked them." Makoto hesitated on the word 'friend', still not having a proper term nor explanation for Pharos. Even though these games were more of Pharos' thing, the boy still had a trick left as he moved his piece again "Checkmate."

"Huh?" Kotone blinked as she analyzed the board up and down and at every imaginable angle. Did she just lose? She, who had been SEES' leader for about 4 months now? "H-How... How did you..?"

"I merely gave you a sense of false hope which blindly led you to your downfall." Makoto explained as he leaned back in his chair with a smug look on his face "You need to know when someone is tricking you..."

"Oh really?" She asked while rolling her eyes "Alright, Wise One, who's tricking me?"

"Hmm..." Makoto smirked as he leaned forward "Ikutsuki is planning to betray you while _I'm_ planning to murder you all."

Kotone snickered the moment she heard that "Pff, the most Ikutsuki could do is bore us with puns, and you..." she took a moment to analyze him "... Eh, you love me too much."

Now, Makoto was the one snickering "Yeah, right- Wait, wait, what now?!" he suddenly stood up straight as one of the words she'd chosen got to him

Kotone covered her mouth the moment the word in question registered in her brain "Sorry, really poor choice of words." she apologized as her face turned a light shade of red.

It was then that she realized something about last night. They spent the night discussing _her_ feelings towards him, but she didn't ask about _his_ feelings at all.

The only point of reference she had towards how he felt was when he left that day. The look of pure heartache in his eyes as if he was doing something he desperately wanted to stop but chose not to. Did that mean that he...

Or was that just what she wanted to think? Did _that_ part of her just want her to think that so that she'll end up in the exact situation as last night?

Dammit, what was she supposed to do? Completely ignore it?!

Her eyes glanced to the side where she noticed the three plushie toys that he had bought for seemingly no reason.

"They're cute." Kotone complimented before looking back at Makoto who had now gone from somewhat happy to desolate like flipping a switch.

"Yeah..." Makoto mumbled weakly as he looked down at his own feet, the pain is shared by the prince, the inheritor, and the foundation all in one.

Looking back at the toys and then back at Makoto, the redhead took a deep breath. If she said the wrong thing, then their link will shatter into pieces, not to mention how much it'll hurt...

Screw it! After last night, she was done playing it safe and fishing for compliments! She told herself when they first linked that she was only interested in his well being, and if he hates her because of it... At least she'll be able to sleep at night.

"They remind you of Minako, don't they?" She asked, and for the first time... She saw Makoto frozen stiff. Hierophant broke his heart and petrified him, but this... Now he looked like he had dragged through hell itself.

Makoto slowly raised his head, his terrified eyes were only slightly less noticeable than his now rapidly trembling hands.

"H-How... H-How d-do..." How could she know about her?! It shouldn't even be possible! How?! How did she know?

What else did she know? Was she aware of his duality as well? Did she know about Pharos?

Did she know about what happened that night? Did she know about how he...

Too much! Too much! Too risky! Too risky! She needs to be dealt with now!

Feelings are damned! She knows too much! She has to be stopped.

Die... Die... Die...

Is that what he's going to do? Kill her?

After everything, is he going to have to—

 _NO!_ Minato screamed louder than he ever had before. Taking advantage of Makoto's shock, Minato attacked full throttle _Not her too... I'm not losing another one!_

The bluenette's head suddenly lowered and his breathing slowed to a crawl as the two personalities conflicted with one another.

This, however, went unnoticed by Kotone who had avoided eye contact the moment she saw the pained look on his face when she mentioned Minako.

"I went to check on you before you woke up, and you mumbled her name..." Kotone explained, still not having the strength to look him in the eye after that. She could almost feel the trembling in his voice when he asked that. He wasn't even _angry_ that she asked, but rather, he looked horrified instead. Just who _was_ Minako and what happened to her to make even Makoto this way?

"Yes..." Kotone's eyes widened in a small bit of shock before quickly turning her head back to the boy. She knew that voice...

"Minako was..." Minato looked down, the subject in question was a sensitive one for even him. He knew what happened ten years ago, and it was something he was going to have to live with, "I... I'll tell you some other time. Okay?"

The girl quickly nodded, unwilling to push her luck any more than she already had "Whenever you want, Mako-kun."

"Hmm... Want to make it up to me?" Minato asked, a small smirk forming on the boy's face signifying that he was about to enjoy this new exchange, "Sit on the couch."

"Uh..." Kotone looked around awkwardly due to the strange nature of the request "Er... Okay then." she agreed before doing as she was asked and the bluenette sat next to her

For some reason, Minato silently chuckled "Tired." He said before lying his head down... on her lap, "Napping now."

"W-Wha-" Kotone's cheeks instantly went as red as her own eyes as she felt the weight of the boy's head pressing on her lap and using it as a pillow.

Was... was he serious? What... What was this boy's major malfunction?

Why is it he was- Wait, was that a smirk on his face?! Oh, the little bastard, he was doing this to tease her!

The moment this registered in her brain, she was about to hit him hard on the head, but try as she might, she just couldn't bring herself to hurt him once she saw his sleeping face.

 _Oh... Dammit!_ She cursed herself as she let out an exasperated sigh before simply accepting it. After a few more moments, she found herself silently combing her fingers through the boy's long and messy hair.

More of those feelings are starting to well up in her heart again... But she knew that they couldn't be trusted; Not after last time.

Still, it was nice to see _Minato_ again after all of this, almost like receiving a cookie or ice cream for eating dinner.

"Hmm..." The redheaded girl hummed to herself as she looked at the sleeping boy who was far more relaxed now than he was earlier in the morning "Wonder if he'd be okay if I wanted to spend another night here..." she pondered for a moment.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna say: What happens was NOT my idea... Oh, God.

***hums to self***

Are you humming Christmas songs?

_**Home** _

Minato softly groaned as his consciousness that had slipped away seemingly at the flip of a switch began to return. The boy might've dismissed this and go back to sleep anyway, but then he felt fingers gently combing through his hair.

"Hmm..?" Minato opened his eyes and looked up to see a pair of red eyes looking down on him.

"Welcome back to the world of the living." Kotone greeted the boy with her usual warm smile on her face.

"Mm... How long was I out?" Minato asked as he rotated himself so that he was looking straight up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Just about every joint felt stiff, so he must've been there for quite a while.

Kotone softly hummed to herself as she tried to ponder just how much time had passed since he'd first fallen asleep, "A few hours now." She answered, still running her fingers through his hair "Your hair is silky-smooth, you know that?"

"You've just admitted to petting me in my sleep for a few hours, you know that?" He shot back which caused both of them to laugh at the absurdity of their situation, along with just how embarrassing this would be if anyone else were to find out about this.

"Way to kill the calm mood!" Kotone laughed while lightly pinching the boy's shoulder as 'punishment'. It was almost amazing to see the night and day difference between Minato and Makoto.

Still having a self-satisfied look of his face, Minato readjusted his head's position on the girl's lap "Hmm... Are all girls lap's this comfy?"

"Hey, be careful where you turn your head!" She teasingly warned him, even going so far as to hold up a fist to demonstrate what her reaction would be.

"Pf, please..." Minato mumbled as he closed his eyes "... You wear shorts anyway."

"Well, I guess that's-" Kotone froze for a moment as what he just said fully registered in her brain "... How do you know that."

Minato's eyes shot wide open as a bead of sweat fell down his face "U-Uh..." It was at this moment that Minato had realized... He had fucked up "... Believe it or not... I have a very good explanation."

"Do tell." She ordered, narrowing her eyes and watching him like a hawk. Was she wrong to let her guard down? Was his Minato side more of a pervert than she had originally thought?

"Well uh... You see... My friend took my phone and-" The moment he uttered that last word, Kotone pushed him off her screaming

"You have photos on your phone?!" She yelled with a fury that no force in hell itself could even dream of.

Minato rubbed the back of his neck in unease as he stood up "W-Well uh..."

Not even letting him finish his sentence, Kotone held out her hand in a demanding fashion "Phone. Give. NOW!"

Minato slowly gulped _It's been nice knowing me..._ He thought as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and gave it to the redhead.

The moment she started going through the phone, her face went from angry to shocked to downright horrified from the sheer combination of the quantity and quality of the photos.

There were various girls at the mall.

A lot of girls from within the school's hallways.

There were even some from within the girls changing room with many looking in the camera's direction, but not noticing for some reason...

Wait...

...

...

...

 _She_ was one of those that were looking at the camera! Not only that... it was taken when she was already half-naked! How?! How did he take these?!

Kotone slowly looked up from the phone and saw the boy with a very terrified look on his face.

"U-Uh..." Minato took a small step back, afraid of what punishment was about to head his way. Left with no means of defense and no way out, he could only say the first thing that came to his mind "Um... Apple sauce?"

Kotone's left eye slowly twitched as she put the phone down and slowly walked towards Minato; Her cheeks were about as red as she was angry at this one moment.

"Mako-kun, I'm giving you one chance..." She warned as she took another step forward, "Just this one chance to give me a reason not to kill you here and now..."

"Uh.." Minato took another step back but then felt his back hit the wall while the girl was getting closer and closer "... I swear to god I didn't get off to any of those nor have I sold them! I didn't even take them! I swear!" He desperately pleaded his innocence

"Alright, I believe you," Kotone said, finally stopping and smiling sweetly at him.

Minato sighed in relief "Oh thank-"

"So I'm giving you a choice..." Kotone said with a glare of a thousand suns that caused Minato's skin to feel as if it were being burned off "... Do you want a few broken bones or to kick. You do heal after all." she gave her ultimatum.

Minato's faced paled as he weighed all of his options. Getting _kicked_ would leave permanent mental scars on top of destroying whatever chances there were of him ever having children in the future, even with Pharos' healing.

Then, there was the simple option of her breaking a 'few' bones. Considering she knew that he'd heal and the extreme rage he was feeling just from her presence that was drawing ever closer, she'd break far more than just a 'few'. Even if he heals, it'd still hurt like hell.

Neither of those was a real option for him.

There was no way of getting out of this one.

There was no excuse for him to use it.

He only had one means of surviving this one. It was time to perform his last resort.

Minato got down on his knees and took a prostration pose in desperation.

"Please don't hurt me!" He begged the redheaded girl in front of him to spare his life and soul "I'll even make you something right here and now!"

"Hmm..." With his eyes closed a the feeling of pure terror in his heart, Minato heard the devil herself hum in thought as she decided his fate "You better bring your A-game."

Minato stood up instantly as if he was a recruit who'd just been drafted "Yes, ma'am!" he agreed before darting into the kitchen as fast as he could, eager to do whatever it took to save his life from punishment for a crime he didn't commit.

Kotone couldn't help but giggle at the bluenette who she had just scared into submission. The best part was that she wasn't even going to hurt him, after all, which was side was even the right one to hurt?

In a way, seeing him run around frantically in a desperate attempt to escape his theoretical punishment was kind of cute in its way. He certainly was a completely different beast when dealing with people if one were to compare him to Makoto.

Just thinking about it made her start to feel warm and...

 _Damn, these feelings again._ Kotone silently cursed as she placed a hand over her heart which was the source of the sensation. Why? Why wouldn't they just go away now?

She took everything that was said yesterday to heart. She knew that these feelings towards Makoto weren't genuine so-

Wait... This wasn't Makoto, though. No, this was his 'Minato' side who was almost a complete one-eighty from Makoto while keeping some of the core traits.

Makoto had said to her that she was just confused about her feelings because she was 'in love with broken things', but... Minato wasn't any of that. No, he seemed to be largely unaffected by whatever had permanently scarred him for life.

So... What did this mean? Did this mean that both of them were wrong?

Did... Did that mean she...

Kotone quickly shook her head along with all of those thoughts that were collectively gathering in her mind. She shouldn't be thinking any of this, not now. Whatever the case may be, now wasn't the time to settle it.

...

...

...

"W-Well..?" Minato hesitantly asked as he presented his latest work of culinary art; Some ramen with chicken teriyaki.

The girl who this was presented to in a desperate plea to save his life seemed disappointed but decided to take a bite out of it... before sucking up the whole thing as if her mouth had suddenly become a vacuum cleaner.

Minato watched in complete shock/awe as the girl practically licked her plate clean to the point it was spotless and ready to be reused... had it not been for the fact that she -once again- practically licked it clean.

"A-Am I free to go?" Minato asked in a shaky voice while unconsciously taking a step back, afraid of just what this one girl could do to him.

Kotone hummed as she stood up and looked at the boy with a kittenish look on her face. He could tell just by looking at her that he wasn't going to like what was going on in her head.

"Hmm... If you saw me, maybe I should see you now?" She playfully suggested while she did her typical girlish giggle.

"W-Wha-" Minato took another step back, his face reddening with every second. Did she honestly just suggest that?

"Or maybe I can just tickle you to death?" She suggested another means of torture which caused the boy to take another step back in fear.

He just traded a moment of quick pain that'd heal for this? Was it too late to choose the last two options? Could he go back in time?

Wait, he wasn't cornered this time! He had a means of escape!

Out the door? No, the neighbors would think he was fucking insane... Besides, this is _his_ home; Where the hell would he have to go?

Maybe he could try duping her into thinking he was running for the door and knock her out? Oh, who was he trying to kid? She was still the leader of SEES and wouldn't go down _that easy_... not to mention he wasn't sure how to do that without causing brain damage.

Maybe it would've been smarter to add sedatives to her food? No, he could've sworn he saw her take something earlier probably for a cold or something that wasn't any of his business so it wouldn't be a good idea to risk mixing anything... Or were they mints? Or did he just imagine it?

Crap, now he didn't know what was real and what wasn't because he was panicking now! He needed a way out and he needed it now!

There was one place he could run to, though it wasn't exactly a way 'out'.

Screw it! He was doomed if he didn't try it!

Minato turned around and was about to dash away, but was immediately pounced on from behind by Kotone which caused both of them onto fall to the floor.

"Goin' somewhere?" Kotone asked as she tried desperately to wrap her arms around him to halt his attempts to get away.

Unwilling to give up, Minato continued to resist and eventually managed to worm his way out of her iron grasp and run for his bedroom door.

As soon as he was in, Minato attempted to slam his door shut and lock it to form a haven of sorts.

This was rendered futile as Kotone rammed the door before it could shut and forced her way into his room and made any other methods of escape were now nothing but a dream.

Despite the slight pain, she felt from ramming the door as hard as she did, Kotone still laughed as she grabbed onto Minato and pushed and pulled as hard as she could to destroy his balance.

"Haha, I win!" She declared as if this were nothing but a game. Finding that she was getting nowhere, she put as much force as possible when she pushed and tugged in various directions to knock the boy down who was now returning her hold as to make sure he already had a grip of her should he fall.

"No, no..." Minato denied, refusing to submit or admit defeat. However, the constant movement by Kotone was starting to get to him and he wanted to be sure that he was going to hit a spot that does the least amount of damage "H-Hey! You're going to make us-!"

Minato's sentence was cut off when his balance finally gave way and the two collapsed into the boy's bed with the owner in question having his back hit the cushion and the girl land on top of him.

"Ow..." He let out a low but dragged out a groan as he felt the pressure of having a girl fall on him. Of all the things he expected to happen, this was certainly not one of them.

Kotone, however, was spared most of the pain that Minato had felt and could only laugh "Told ya I won." she declared, still crushing the boy who hadn't had any time to brace himself nor recover.

"That hurt..." Minato complained as he gently nudged the girl to get off of him.

"Hey, it was fun right?" Kotone asked as she began to lift herself "Isn't that all... that... matters..." Her voice trailed off as the two paused and took a moment to realize their proximity and location.

Just like before, time seemed to completely freeze for both of them as they were left staring into each other's eyes.

Kotone felt the same feelings she felt last time as her heart began pounding hard to the point she thought it was going to burst out of her chest.

From her chest, she also felt the same warm and strange sensation that had been plaguing her, only now it was amplified to a much greater extent. No matter what she thought, even when she tried telling herself it was something as minor as a crush after Yakushima... It only came back stronger and stronger.

She remembered every word she had said before as if it was on constant replay. She remembered what Makoto had said and she took it to heart. Her feelings weren't for him, but for the idea of helping him...

Minato felt as if he was completely locked in place and unable to move; The only action he was capable of doing was gazing into those crimson eyes of hers.

He knew Makoto was beyond enraged at this point. Being touched alone was enough to upset him, but on top of him still panicking over her comment over Minako... He wanted this to stop.

Makoto wanted to push her off and send her out the door. This was wrong... More than wrong! It was something that should never even be conceived in their minds! Especially his with him knowing how this would end.

But Makoto wasn't here.

Kotone was told that her feelings were only because of her desire to help Makoto, but she was now dealing with the much more upbeat Minato who barely seemed bothered. Yet, her feelings remained the same- No... If anything, they were stronger than before! Much stronger! Whatever she was feeling, it had to be tied to something more than that... There was no way it could be this strong otherwise.

Minato was in control now and he could do whatever he wanted. He normally existed as nothing more than a voice in the Prince's head at most, but now he was here. Now, lying on top of him was the girl who'd set him free from his private prison. The person who he had admitted his feelings towards days ago.

Forgoing everything warning them, the two finally gave in to their inner feelings, closed their eyes and leaned into each other to share their first kiss.

Whatever voice Kotone had telling her to stop had completely ceased now as she cupped the boy's face and pressed her lips against his.

She couldn't stop, she never wanted this to end! She wanted this to go on for as long as she could.

Taking him by complete surprise, Kotone had decided to crank it up another notch as she slides in her tongue and allowed her hands to freely roam the bluenette before taking off the jacket that he was wearing and pressing more of her body against him.

While surprised, Minato was sure to return the favor by adding his tongue into the mix. Neither of them was willing to let the other freely dominate and it quickly became a dual of tongues which caused both of them to softly moan into each other's mouths.

Going by pure instinct alone, Minato let his hands snake up into Kotone's shirt and feel the soft normally hidden skin underneath.

Almost as if on autopilot, Kotone finally broke the kiss for a moment allowing both to take the opportunity to catch their breath and quickly discarded the to top and threw it somewhere behind her before kissing the boy again, now only having an orange bra to conceal her womanly assets.

Left with nothing else, Minato wrapped his arms around her waist. For this moment, Makoto was silent as if left unable to speak, and only one that was in his world was the girl in front of him.

Grabbing the boy's left hand and brought it to her chest, moaning softly again when she felt the unfamiliar sensation of someone else's hand on her body for the first time. Feeling as if she was in her private world, Kotone pushed the boy flat onto his back as she continued kissing him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co-author convinced me to do that last part... which leads into next chapter. Ugh, whyyyyy....


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pleeeeease, be mature here... at least pretend to be. Why did I do this?
> 
> Actually, I should make this clear: I'm not... good when it comes to these types of scenes, especially back then. You might even consider it terrible... or maybe I'm thinking too hard? Don't judge me!

_**Home** _

"Mm..." Kotone continued to moan into Minato's mouth as she continued to hold him down on the bed. Despite probably having even less experienced in this than her, Minato was still able to put up quite the fight in their dual on tongues.

After a few moments of a battle that was ultimately ending a draw, Kotone broke the kiss and sat up straight on the boy's lap as she brought her hands to the buttons on the boy's shirt. In almost agonizingly slow motion, the redhead began to undo the buttons and expose a few scars that'd been left courtesy of Sakuya.

"Aw..." Kotone made a pouting noise as she undid the rest of the buttons and traced one of the scars located where his heart was with her index finger. All of the scars were relatively fresh and she remembered being by his bedside when he was put into the hospital. Then, there was the recovery week where he must've been in a lot of pain...

"I'll make it all better." She promised before lowering her head and individually kissing each scar she could fine which caused Minato to shiver on contact. Working her way up as she left a small kiss after a small kiss, Kotone found herself face-to-face with him again and left what must've been the dozenth kiss on his lips again.

Minato gently stroked her left cheek with his hand as they both smiled at each other. Remembering where his other hand was, Minato gave another gentle squeeze at her bosom which made her gasp at the unfamiliar but pleasant sensation.

Suddenly, Kotone's cheeks began to flare a deep red and her blissful expression was replaced by unease when he moved his hands between the cups of her bra and gently pulled as to indicate what he wanted.

Noticing this, Minato removed his hand and supported himself up as he looked her "Not ready?" he asked. She must've been going off of instinct alone before, and now that he was asking to see something that... It must've been too much at once.

"P-Promise you'll be a gentleman." She ordered as she broke eye contact, feeling as if she'd die in embarrassment. Honestly, how did he manage to keep such a straight face this whole time?

Minato reached out and gently turned her head so that her eyes met again "I promise."

Kotone smiled gently through her embarrassment as she gave a slow nod to him. Minato slowly snaked his arms under hers ready for any form of protest before undoing the clasp and letting the straps fall from her shoulders.

The redhead continued to hold the bra to her chest as the room felt like it was an oven. Taking a deep breath, she slowly put her hands down and allowed the boy in front of her to see her bare chest.

Despite her many expeditions into Tartarus, her skin was pale and completely flawless. The expeditions combined with her being in either volleyball or tennis (he wasn't sure of which) had also left her body toned which only further increased the bluenette's attraction for her.

"This is so embarrassing..." She lamented before the boy kissed her again which she returned full-heartedly as any discomfort she had was put at ease.

In the proper mood again, Kotone pushed the boy down onto the bed and pressed her bare chest against his. Despite his inactivity, he also had surprisingly a surprisingly toned body as well. Had he been venturing into Tartarus alone? Or did his healing ability also make sure his muscles never degraded? Or was it both?

Shaking those thoughts from her mind, Kotone pulled back as she realized something. He had made all of those marks and scars that covered his body from fighting... Why not leave something good to remember?

The leaned forward and whispered "Imma mark you now..." before gently nipping his ear causing him to gasp.

Kotone left one more kiss on his lips before moving to his cheek, his jawline, and then leaving one at his neck. Noticing the shivers and gasp he made when she made contact with his neck, she determined he was a little sensitive there which worked out for her just fine.

Kotone giggled at Minato's small involuntary spasm before placing her lips on her area of choice and began sucking on it.

Minato began gasping and groaning as the girl he'd fallen for continued her actions on one of his most sensitive spots "Kotone..." he breathed out her name as he regained enough muscle control to stop his spams and ran his hands along her bareback.

Kotone continued to suck the skin, even licking it occasionally to force the boy to shiver again before pulling back and revealing a prominent red mark.

"And now, you're all mine!" She declared as she ran a hand through his messy blue hair and brushed his fringe to the side so that she could get a rare good look at his right eye.

Minato smiled warmly as he brought his hands to her hips "Mm... my turn."

"Wha-" Kotone was cut off by her yelping that was followed by her giggles and laughs as _she_ was suddenly the one on her back now with Minato looming over her.

Now the one in control, Minato gently stroked her cheek before gently running his finger down her her neck, chest, and stomach which made her arch her back and lift herself slightly as her anticipation grew.

"Mm... c'mon... I don't like being teased." She cooed as she gently placed her hands on his face "You promised to be a gentleman."

Minato chuckled from the girl's begging as he brought his hands back to her bosom and gently began to massage her breast again which made her let out another loud moan.

Kotone bit her lip as she reveled in the unfamiliar but pleasant sensations "Y-You... Your ass..." she managed to utter "Promise breaker!"

"Tell me that when you're not enjoying it." He retorted as he continued to watch Kotone enjoy every second of it.

"Mm... I hate you." She muttered in reply but soon returned another kiss when Minato moved his hands to the side and planted his lips on hers again.

Minato couldn't help but continue to chuckle at how her protest quickly died down "You marked me, now it's my turn..." he said and like she had done with him, Minato planted another kiss on her lips, cheek, jaw, and planted a long one at her neck as he continued.

"Wait, wa-Ah! Not there! Not there!" She begged as he found a spot just beneath her left collar bone.

Minato smirked as he discovered her sensitive spot just like she had done with him "What's that? There? Okay." he playfully ignored her orders.

"Don't you- Ah!" Kotone cut herself off with another gasp. She bit her lip and tried her hardest to hold back her moans, but the more and more he sucked _there_ of all places, the most hopeless it became.

Giving in, Kotone moaned again as she grasped the boy's hair "Goddammit..." she groaned "I'll never forgive you for this..." she condemned him as he continued sucking on her soft skin.

Finally satisfied, Minato placed one more long kiss on the new love mark before looking back into the girl's eyes "Hey, you did _my_ sweet spot; Only fair I did yours."

"Why do you think I haven't knocked you off?" She replied, cupping the boy's face "You really like kissing, don't you?"

"Are you complaining?"

"Only if you stop." She answered as he pulled him forward and kissed him again. Every time she kissed him, it was like her once-broken heart had seen its glimpse of heaven. It was as if she was in complete bliss for a moment that was shared only by the boy with her.

Minato slowly brought one hand to her right breast and gently squeezed again which caused her to moan in his mouth again.

The bluenette broke the kiss, but immediately returned one more peck on her lips before asking "May I?" he kindly requested permission.

"Now you're asking?" Kotone laughed as she raised an eyebrow. Just a few moments ago, he completely disregarded what she had said.

"No sense of fairness to even it out this time." He explained as he tilted his head with a smirk still on his face " _Please~,_ Kotone?" he asked, dragging out the word 'please'.

"Don't be too rough..." She gave her ground rules "... and if you dare bite me, I'm knocking you out."

Minato snickered before placing one last kiss on her lips "Wouldn't dream of it..." he said as once again he began to leave a trail of kisses as he got lower and lower.

"B-Be careful..." she pleaded with him in a somewhat shaky voice as his lips grew close to their destination "... I'm really sensitive-Ah, dammit!" she cursed as she felt his lips plant themselves on her right breast.

Minato found himself snickering again "Why would you tell me that?"

"I thought I could guilt-trip you after last time..." She explained in a whimpering voice "U-Um... Can you.. uh..." her cheeks flared a bright red again which spelled out exactly what she wanted.

"Gladly..." He answered as he lowered his head again and continued his previous activities which made Kotone moan loudly again.

Never in her life did she think she'd let someone do _this_ to her breasts while she was still in high school. But here she was, lying on the bed of someone with two personalities making her gasp and moan in ecstasy as he went from one to the other while leaving quick kisses on her lips and neck.

Wanting to progress from where they are, Minato brought his left hand to her right calve and slowly brought his hand up as it progressed to her thigh.

The moment she felt his hand on her thigh, several thoughts began coming to her mind.

Was she comfortable doing _this_? Just a day ago she was heartbroken and had Makoto tell her that she was just confused as he looked at her with his heartache obvious in his eyes.

She dismissed everything at first as her brain essentially went on autopilot, but this caused by a similar circumstance as last time at Yakushima. How did she know that _this_ was because she loved him or not?

"Wait, wait..." Kotone pleaded as she gently pulled his head off of her breast and their eyes met again.

Just one simple look in her eyes and he understood what was going on, "Oh..." he said as he pushed himself off of her and stood up.

"I'm sorry..." She apologized as she sat up "It's just... Everything happened so fast and yesterday, I-" she was silenced when the boy place his fingers on her lips

"It's alright, there's nothing to apologize for." He assured her as he took a step back and grabbed his shirt.

"We can talk about it tomorrow, alright?" He continued as he found her shirt and placed it on his bed "You can take the bed tonight."

"Sure?" Kotone asked as she put her bra back on and stood up "I mean, yesterday you-"

"Didn't want to wake you when you passed out on the couch?" He finished her sentence, explaining Makoto's genuine reasons at the time "True, but that's not an issue this time."

Minato walked to the door and looked at the girl behind him who still felt bad for ending what was a blissful moment for the both of them "Don't worry about it, alright? I'll see you tomorrow..."

Kotone nodded as she put her shirt back on "Um... G'night."

"G'night."

...

...

...

"So...?" Minato asked as he stood by his apartment door, the girl in front of him ready to leave needing to make one thing clear.

"Last night... I loved every moment of it, but..." Kotone took a deep breath and sighed "I need to think about this alright?" she explained as she cupped the boy's face "I'm happy just... I need some time. Wait for me, alright?"

Minato nodded as he placed a hand over one of the ones on his face "One more?"

Kotone smiled warmly in response to his request "One more..."

Kotone stood on her toes as Minato leaned down and left one more long kiss on each other's lips before separating for the last time until Kotone understood what her feelings truly were.

"Goodbye!" She said as she left the boy's apartment to return to her dorm which was filled with her team members who were undoubtedly worried sick about her.

Minato continued to smile as he walked to his window and watched her slowly walk away until she was completely out of sight.

Gone.

Gone.

Gone.

She was gone.

Alone.

Alone.

Alone.

He was all alone.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing to keep Minato there anymore.

The boy's head lowered the moment Kotone left from view as the inheritor's control began to slip away once again in favor of the more dominant personality.

"Y-You... fool..." Makoto whispered as he slowly took a few steps back until his knees could no longer support him and he fell to the ground.

Makoto rotated his back so that he was lying on his stomach with his face in front of the floor "YOU BLOODY FOOL!" He screamed as he slammed his face as hard as he could against the hard floor.

 _You were about to kill her..._ Minato whispered into their shared head.

"I was... I was panicking after..." Makoto shook his head before slamming his head again "It's why I didn't want this... It's going to end badly! I... I just wanted to spare both of us the pain."

 _Pain this, pain that. Meanwhile, you continue to flaunt around with the **thing** that caused all of this to us! _Minato screamed his response loudly causing Makoto to suffer from a massive headache

"He's... He's all I have..." Makoto whimpered as he slowly got back on his feet and wobbled his way into his bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror.

 _It doesn't have to be that way, Makoto..._ Minato whispered, his voice now becoming a much gentler whisper in his ear _You don't need to suffer anymore..._

"Every moment with her is suffering you, idiot!" Makoto screamed as he slammed his face as hard as he could against the glass causing it to shatter and for his face to suffer from several cuts from the shards.

 _Then just stop._ Minato pleaded with his other self _We don't even need to be separate anymore._

"I can't..." Makoto said as he leaned against the bathroom wall and slowly slid down to the ground again "... It's the only reason I have to exist... " he continued to look down "... The only way our foundation can make up for what he did that day."

Pharos watched as his friend suffered from the inside and out, covered in his blood and crying without tears. This was truly hell for him and painful for him to watch.

The little boy continued to watch his friend suffer as he thought to himself.

She was hurting his friend far, far more than she was doing anything else and that's even if it was his friend at the moment.

He knew Makoto couldn't bring himself to hurt her... At least, not without wanting to die immediately after. At the same time, every moment with her was pure agony.

She... was not good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cockblock to the max... Thank God. It'd be a nightmare otherwise. Fuck that—N-No, wait! Don't do that! Shit!
> 
> Oh, yeah, Pharos... this is the start of a long headache. I'll explain later on.


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might be wrong here, but I THINK this is around the part where I slowly began the process of realizing how pointless what's-his-face was.

_**Home** _

Pharos continued to watch with sad eyes as his friend slammed the back off his head against the wall as hard as he could.

**BANG**

**BANG**

**BANG**

It was probably loud enough that a few of the neighbors heard, but none dared to knock given Makoto's rather... unique behavior.

As the boy sat on the floor, Pharos approached his friend and wrapped his arm around him in a desperate effort to calm him down.

Whatever battle that was going on in his head was a mystery even to him, but it needed some form of resolution.

"P-Pharos..." Makoto called out to his friend weakly, still crying but without a single tear "... What do I do?"

It was a strange thing. Despite his clear emotional imbalance, not a single tear fell from his eyes. It was almost as if Makoto's ability to do so died long ago.

Still, to see him crying even if tearless was jarring. In his life, he's lost limbs, been eviscerated, fallen from buildings, and even used to let shadow's attack him to build a pain tolerance, but this...

This was the sort of suffering that began all of this. Every night Makoto had nightmares about what happened which only served to multiply the damage. The nightmares were only staved off when he focused on his life-long quest.

But now? Now they came back full force; Stronger than ever. All the pain that was slowly driving him mad... When would it end?

And Kotone, she only served to make an already debilitating injury worse. Makoto's resolve was weakening and he was suffering for it.

But he'd also suffer if she was gone, whether he'd admit it or not. It was a good thing Minato had stepped in, otherwise, Makoto would've acted on impulse and suffered a pain similar to what he'd been suffering for a decade now.

She'd become something important to him, so unless he removes her himself with a sound mind... She'd only serve to be one of the many things slowly but surely driving him insane.

The blue-haired boy looks down at the floor that was covered in broken shards of glass and his own blood "I... I can't keep seeing her, but I..." Makoto slammed his hand down causing several lacerations "Dammit!"

Pharos could only shake his head. He knew Makoto would fall apart if he killed her like he was about to a few moments ago, but he was falling apart now.

What was he supposed to do?

There was nothing in the realm of possibility for him.

Even if he could, killing her would be out of the question as long as Makoto was still conflicted with his demons.

Yet... If nothing was done, would he lose his best friend?

 _I told you, we don't need to fight anymore._ Minato whispered, desperately trying to convince his other side, _There doesn't need to be any more pain from either of us._

"Cheap words from you, inheritor..." Makoto scoffed as the glass that'd been driven into his hand was forced out of his wounds "...You're the one that didn't suffer."

* * *

_**Dorm** _

"Okay, Okay..." Kotone said to herself as she stood outside her dorm's door, "Just tell 'em that you made up with Makoto-kun. I mean, that _is_ what happened."

Of course, that wasn't the only thing that happened...

 _Hehe, yeah..._ Kotone smiled to herself at the mere thought of what her teammates' faces would look like.

 _As fun as that'd be, I think I'll just keep it to myself._ She thought as she gripped the door handle.

_Three._

_Two._

_One! Go!_

With that, Kotone took a deep breath and stepped inside her dorm lounge.

As soon as she walked through the door, the redhead was greeted to the sight of Koromaru running around wagging his tail and barking to call everyone down.

"I'm back!" She announced her return loud enough so that the entire dorm could hear.

Like moths to a flame, all the members of SEES plus their guest Ken came running to greet their previously missing leader.

Being the best friends they are, the junior girls of sees shared one big hug between them filled with the standard questions of how she was doing and such.

The male members of the group simply stood by with relieved looks on their faces. While they might not have liked to show it, they did like to worry about their leader at times.

Aigis stayed silent, but in her way, she was just as glad that their leader returned as the rest of them.

Mitsuru stood by with both a smile and a look of relief on her face "Glad to see you're back, Shiomi."

Kotone suddenly felt the mood go from happy to uncomfortable as she remembered how she left a few days ago, "Yeah~, sorry 'bout that."

"No need to apologize, Kotone." Akihiko assured his kohai.

"Yeah, we're a team aren't we?" Junpei said with his usual Junpei eccentricity "How'd it go? All go to one or something..?"

Yukari facepalmed at Junpei's complete failure at providing assurance "That's not how it goes at all! And how is that even appropriate?!"

"Hey! Least I'm tryin'." Junpei desperately attempted to defend his actions.

Yukari rolled her eyes, completely unfazed by the defense "Yeah, trying to show off what a Stupei you are."

Kotone, however, laughed at her friends' brief little quarrel. There was certainly nothing better than screw-ups to bring people together.

"Haha, you guys are too much at times!" Kotone laughed out before shaking her head "But really, I'm all better now, I promise."

"But, where did you go?" Fuuka asked the biggest question on everyone's minds.

"Well..." Faint traces of pink began to form on the redhead's face as she scratched the back of her head "... Let's just say Makoto-kun and I are on better terms now, too."

"Oh, that guy, huh?" Junpei groaned it wasn't a secret that Makoto wasn't on the best of terms with... almost everyone, "Does that guy almost has to be such an ass?"

"Eh, he likes to act all tough." Kotone said before changing her voice to sound a bit more cartoon-ish "But inside he's just a cuddly teddy bear."

Fuuka gasped the moment she heard that "Kotone-chan, you cuddled with him?!"

Aigis armed her weapons instantly "Requesting permission to eliminate him."

"No, and hell no!" Kotone screamed at the top of her lungs as her cheeks continued to redden, "Seriously, what goes on in your guy's brains?"

Aigis instantly disarmed her weaponry "Understood, I will remain on stand by until further notice."

"Well, what else were we supposed to think?" Yukari followed up about Fuuka's question "You were gone for two nights without so much as a peep and chat! Do you know how worried we were?!"

"I know, I know..." Kotone sighed, in hindsight, she really should've told them where she was and that she was taking a few nights to get herself back together, "Look, I'm back now, alright? Let's just make the most of it."

Mitsuru nodded "Agreed, shall we go to Tartarus tonight?"

"Sure, we've slacked off long enough" Kotone agreed with her senior "Questions?"

"Uh, Ko-tan..." Junpei called out weakly as he pointed at his leader "What's that?"

Everyone followed Junpei's finger and saw exactly what he was referring to. If you looked down, just beneath her collarbone one could see the edges of a red mark.

Rather than blush, Kotone suddenly had a furious look in her eyes "It's a rash... You won't think anything else."

Junpei gulped and nodded up and down "Y-Yes ma'am!"

Aigis, however, took a moment to analyze the mark "It seems that various small blood vessels beneath your skin have ruptured..." she said as she took a step forward "From the area on the mark and taking into account your health, it would seem you've acquired what is commonly referred to as A hickey!"

"A hickey!" Everyone squeaked at once as they looked at their leader in shock. Did Makoto and her..?

"Goddammit, Aigis..." Kotone mumbled under her breath as she looked at her comrades. It was obvious what was going on in their minds.

"No, we didn't." She spoke firmly as she looked at everyone with the eyes of a predator "And no, I don't. It's a rash... It'll go away."

"It's a rash... It'll go away." Everyone slowly repeated as they took another step back, afraid of just what their leader had in mind for them if they didn't comply.

"Good. Now be ready for Tartarus." She laid out the orders before going up the stairs. She'd gone far too long without her MP3 player.

A bead of sweat fell over the entire team as they looked at each other awkwardly. They might never be able to look at their leader the same again after today.

* * *

_**Streets** _

"Hurry the fuck up, will ya?" Makoto muttered as he leaned against the wall of an alley.

 _He's going to betray her..._ Minato whispered, once again adding his opinion where it was unwanted.

It was a known fact to both of the sides that Ikutsuki fully intended to betray SEES after what he saw at Yakushima. Over and over Minato tried to warn them when he could, but Makoto's grip was too strong and to try when he was in control meant losing it in a moment's notice due to the Prince's rather strong hold on the body.

 _He's going to betray you, too._ Minato continued, trying desperately to appeal to his other-self. If he wouldn't do it for her, one would think he'd at least do it for himself or something.

 _He needs to die._ Minato finished, his will still unyielding to the Prince's who now had to fight for his own body.

But he was never going to let it happen easily. When Minato was cast aside, he was simply put in what seemed like a movie in a theater. All he could do was watch whatever Makoto did while whispering in his ear until he had the chance to gain control.

Makoto wasn't so lucky. It was almost as if his consciousness seemed to split; A part of him was experiencing the same thing while another part of him was sent to relive an old nightmare over and over on a loop. Perhaps it was due to him being essentially half asleep and being the only one that suffers those nightmares?

"Not while he's useful." Makoto continued to insist, unwilling to let his only worm inside Kirijo go just yet. He didn't know how, but he knew a parasite like Ikutsuki was going to try and worm his way out of this somehow.

He was likely telling him the bare minimum as well; Enough to keep him alive, but not enough that he couldn't be further used for later. It was for reasons like this that Makoto began to doubt the old clown's use.

What wasn't Ikutsuki telling him? Where _did_ Ikutsuki get his information? What do SEES know in comparison? Why was he even playing them, to begin with? Did he hold a grudge like Makoto, or was there something else?

Regardless, the parasite still had some use left and it was enough to keep him alive for now.

"He's coming." Pharos alerted the bluenette who turned in the direction of the approaching turn-coat.

"Took you long enough, old clown." Makoto performed his habit of insulting his elder who approaching with several papers "Don't bother explaining anything, just give me the damn papers."

"As you wish." Ikutsuki complied with a somewhat uneasy expression "I-I should warn you, this was the only version I was able to-"

"Half this is blacked out!" Makoto exclaimed as he crushed the papers in his hand "Do you _want_ to die?! Is that it?!"

"I'm not a miracle worker!" Ikutsuki tried to defend his actions, but nothing could hide the slight trembling in his lips, "What I've given you is still a wealth of information of what the Kirijo group were able to learn about the Plumes of Dusk."

"But _why_ is it blacked out..." Makoto asked as he narrowed his eyes. What was this old clown trying to hide from him? What could be so important to him that he'd risk his life trying to protect it?

"How would I know?!" Ikutsuki asked back "This is all I could find!"

"You better have something else..." Makoto said as he took a step forward "Or did you think what I said about your face was just a joke?"

Ikutsuki gulped as he looked at the boy whose hostility was rapidly ascending, and Ikutsuki couldn't help but shiver as the summer air felt as if it was replaced with the coldest day of winter.

"S-SEES will be venturing into Tartarus tonight!" Ikutsuki announced, desperate for anything that could buy him his life.

"So we have all night together?" Makoto asked as he chuckled and took a step forward, "Wonderful."

"I-I also have something else!" Ikutsuki said as he reached into his coat and pulled out more papers to give to the boy.

"What's this..?" Makoto thought out loud as he read the papers.

Kirijo had also collected a few artifacts as well to experiment and run a test on. There were swords, knives, and many other weapons that were far stronger than anything that should exist in this world.

Among these objects were several masks, each with a different design and abilities. The main issue about these was that no one could wear them lest something terrible happen.

Best case? The wearer would have their brain completely fry and they'd die in a pool of their blood. Worst? They'd become possessed by what could only be described as gods until the wearer was killed.

Luckily, Kirijo only sent in people with the same device Sakuya had as to prevent anything from getting out of control, but the raw power in the things was beyond concerning.

Most of the mask has been reported as missing or destroyed, but there was quite a collection before the incident ten years ago.

A Snow Queen mask, A Faceless mask, and many, many more to the point they might've even been able to fill an entire gallery with them.

There was one that was theorized to exist, but there was no proper evidence to support it dubbed 'The Prince's mask'. Due to its existence being nothing more than a theory, no one knew anything about that mask. Not even the reason as to why the mask's existence was theorized, to begin with, was stated, but it is believed that it is either out there somewhere or yet to be made.

"Hmph, good enough." Makoto said as he turned around and began walking away, "You should run home now, Ikutsuki! It's dangerous at night!"

Ikutsuki sighed in relief as the bluenette left the area and the old air vanished as quickly as it came.

It was then that Ikutsuki couldn't help but wonder: if his persona specialized in fire, then how and why did it suddenly feel like the middle of winter when he started to get angry?

...

...

...

 _Burn my dread~... Burn my dread~_ The song played through Makoto's earphones as he kept his head down and walked home. Even without the Dark Hour, Iwatodai became a very different place at night.

It was important to seem both threatening and unassuming at the same time. If you're too ordinary, then you have the mark to be easy prey. If you're too threatening, like moths to a flame even more trouble would come until their strength in numbers overwhelms you.

Granted, none of this was much of a concern for Makoto all things considered. Anything they dished out, he could give ten times harder. If that wasn't enough, then he could call upon Thanatos to tear them to pieces.

On the plus side, most of the ones out here were nothing more than thrill-seekers wanting nothing more than to commit a few acts of vandalism and then go home with a story that'll be with them for many years later.

Of course, delinquents weren't the only things out here in Iwatodai tonight...

Just like many times before, Makoto could feel the sensation of a Plume approaching. It seemed like the puppet wanted to play as well.

Come to think of it, Sakuya would've had no way to know where he was...

The first time could've been blamed on pure chance or him being on the way to Tartarus while the other meeting was obviously due to it being a full moon, but not this time. Even if he knew where Makoto lived, then he could've just waited there and killed him in his sleep or fight outside if he enjoyed fighting as he seemed too.

No, this time he _knew_ where he was going to be.

Makoto chuckled to himself as a small almost impressed smile formed on his face, "Not bad. Not bad at all, Ikutsuki..." he complimented, there was no other person who could've told Sakuya. He had to admit, at least Ikutsuki sent someone formidable. Not many could say they faced Thanatos and live to tell the tale.

Still, Ikutsuki didn't know that he knew of his treachery. All he had to do was kill the damn brunette, and he could pretend as if nothing ever happened.

"You can come out now!" Makoto announced as he took his earphones off "Dark Hour or not, I can still sense your ass."

"God-fucking-dammit!" A loud curse could be heard as the boy revealed himself from the shadows with a noticeable frown on his face "Outside the Dark Hour?! C'mon, what kinda bullshit is this?!"

Makoto chuckled again as he shook his head slowly "And to think, a short-tempered brat like you almost did me in."

"And to think, a sonuva whore like you managed to survive." Sakuya shot back with a sneer on his face

Makoto's eyes instantly narrowed "So Ikutsuki's your little puppet master, right?" He asked for confirmation on his theory.

Sakuya clapped slowly "Congrats, you figured it all out!" he congratulated before quickly switching to a dead-serious attitude "Yeah, that's right. That old fuck kidnapped me and Sho and used us as if we were his play toys. Bastard threw away my brother and is ready to kill me the moment he doesn't need me."

"Wow, that'd be funny if it wasn't so pathetic." Makoto scoffed, "You're the puppet's puppet; A slave and nothing more."

"You little-" Sakuya cut himself off as something about what he had just said struck him.

_"A slave and nothing more."_

_"And you were waiting for me... like the slave you are."_

"What's wrong?" Makoto asked with a confident smirk on his face, "You know... I'm glad you showed your ugly ass scar-face back here."

Makoto prepared himself, in just a few seconds the Dark Hour was going to settle and it'd be him and the puppet again.

"I've had ashitty week so far, so killing will be nothing short of therapeutic..." Makoto continued as he summoned a blade in his right hand as the boy in front of him did the same, "... Don't worry. Once I'm done with him, I'll kill the old clown too; You can rest easy on that."

"Good, I win either way" The boy laughed, he held no love for Ikutsuki and his death by anyone's hands would be more than satisfying.

"Round two?" Sakuya asked as he prepared to fight again. It hadn't been that long since his last battle, but it was more than enough time for him to fight.

 _I wish..._ Makoto thought as the Dark Hour settle "Come and get me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, seeing what comes next, I was right. You see, I came to realize how ridiculous the idea of Makoto being matched was... and then I decided to flip the scales back to what they were. Seriously, this entire thing exists just to make clear that Death is OP af. 
> 
> At least, I think so. My amnesia might be kicking in again and is being crossed-over with selective/false memory.


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to remind a certain character just how irrelevant he is and that he should have died before he was even born. No, I will never let my hate go.

_**Streets** _

Makoto extended his free hand and beckoned the boy in front of him to come closer, and above him was his prime persona, Orpheus Kai.

"Cocky eh?" Sakuya suppressed a laugh, remember how he almost killed Makoto last time and was saved merely by SEES' untimely arrival "Better hope you do better this time."

As per usual when fighting against the brunette, thick darkness began to shroud the entire area to that no one except the person who cast it can barely see anything that's directly in front of them.

It was strange that he still used this technique despite knowing that Makoto would be able to sense where he was, ruining the element of surprise that he would have normally gained from any of his attacks.

Just as the shroud of darkness began to take hold, the sensation that Makoto felt from Sakuya's plume just disappeared. It wasn't that he ran away nor anything of the sorts, he just seemed to vanish from thin air.

 _Oh, I see..._ Makoto thought as A small smirk began to form and he prepared himself.

Makoto quickly did a full twirl and prepared himself just in time to parry what likely would've been A mortal injury as Sakuya reappeared directly behind him.

The two boys locked blades as they glared into each other's eyes. Neither of them was willing to back down from this; This was the perfect opportunity for them to finally settle what began almost a month ago from today.

After the previous battles, Makoto had finally learned something about his opponent. He didn't just use Umbra to blind his enemies, it's linked to some of his abilities, including teleportation.

Both of them had their motivations, but it all stemmed from the same thing: revenge.

Makoto had to live to exact the revenge he desired on Kirijo and their associates. SEES might not have had anything to do with what happened ten years ago, but they won't stand by when he tries to kill Mitsuru and that despicable android, Aigis. Recently his resolved has been shaken by that damned redheaded girl, making him wonder if this was what he wanted. In truth, he didn't even fully know, but it was the only thing he could think of to make all the nightmares go away.

Sakuya just had bidden his time for the perfect opportunity. He was just another orphan kid before everything, but then Ikutsuki took him and put him through hell for the bastard's amusement. To make things worse, he took away the only one he had any sort of relation towards even if it was A rather violent one. Ikutsuki was going to pay somehow, no matter what.

Both of them desired revenge, but their paths intertwined and only one could truly emerge from this conflict alive in the end. Makoto couldn't have a target on his back, and Sakuya's life depended on Ikutsuki's use for him.

Both boys had only been resorting to single bladed combat; Both still had one usable hand. Before his opponent could, Sakuya reeled back his off-handed fist and struck the bluenette's jaw which caused him to take a step back from the impact.

Before Sakuya could attack further, Orpheus Kai quickly played his lyre which was followed by powerful winds that pushed the boy away and launch him in the air. Before he could hit the ground however, Sakuya's plume once again disappeared.

Makoto continued looking in every direction as he tried to see through the darkness. When he tried sensing the plume, it seemed to bounce from one place to the next due to Sakuya's constant teleportation from one place to another.

 _Ah, fuck..._ Makoto thought as he gripped the sword tightly in his hand and tried to find a way out of this predicament. This shroud is a darkness based spell, so maybe a light-based spell would take care of it?

However, Orpheus nor Orpheus Kai had any light-based spells. If he wanted to try and dispel this shroud then he'd have to use something else which Sakuya would be able to see.

The moment Makoto felt a foreign presence next to him, he swung his sword as hard and as fast as he possibly could.

Even Sakuya was caught off guard from the speed and barely managed to parry the sudden attack from the bluenette.

"Ooh, been practicing?" Sakuya asked interested in what sort of training Makoto must've gone through.

"One eye, one arm is broken, and no healing whenever I get a chance to go to Tartarus..." Makoto explained his training regimen. It was a pain to try and adjust himself to not having to rely on Pharos healing him, but it was an unfortunate necessity.

"Not-" Before he could finish, Sakuya was forced back by a kick from Makoto, unwilling to waste their one valuable hour they had to finish this.

Seeing how Sakuya was temporarily stunned, Makoto rushed forward to deliver one quickly slash across from just below the left collar bone to left lower ribs before jumping back before he could counter-attack.

"Krgh..." Sakuya grunted as he took a small step back at the grinning Makoto who was already fairly confident in how this fight would end.

However, this was only returned by Sakuya smirking his own as if persona appeared behind him "Atom Smasher."

"Oh, shit..." Makoto cursed as he realized what was about to happen.

Scotus swung his scythe only once, but this was followed by dozen of slash wounds forming from every possible angle before he was hit by another slash from Scotus which left him suspended in the air.

"Unhallowed Flames..." Makoto whispered and Orpheus Kai played his lyre and suddenly the entire area began to be engulfed in black flames similar to what Thanatos uses but somewhat more tame in comparison.

The flames were enough to get Sakuya to back off long enough that Makoto was able to land on his feet again and gather his bearings again.

 _You know, I could do this for you._ Minato whispered into their shared head.

 _Fuck off._ Makoto brushed off whatever suggestions his other self may have. Things are only as complicated as they are now because of him, he wasn't about to let him risk complicating things further.

Before Minato could respond, Makoto was surrounded by what seemed to be a dozen white orbs, each of them seemed to roughly resemble a full moon. As quickly as they came, each of them exploded at the same time.

Makoto screamed in pain until he impacted with the side of a parked car. Grunting, the boy slowly tried to stand up as his body pushed out the shrapnel and repaired the damage from the impact, but only that of the impact.

Over and over... How many times has this happened now? How many times has he been left in pain because of someone else?

All the nightmares he keeps going through are all because of what Kirijo had done to him and his family. It's because of them that Pharos in an animalistic state of mind forever changes his life. It's because of them that on that, he... did something he'll never forgive himself for.

Makoto's eyes began flickering dimly as his emotions began to become increasingly unstable. He wasn't in any condition to fight mentally, especially against someone as powerful as him.

"Hehe, he..." Makoto couldn't help it, he could only laugh "Hahaha! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Uh... You broken or somethin'?" Sakuya question as he dispelled Umbra, thinking he wouldn't need its help anymore given Makoto's current state.

Makoto's laughter was reduced to chuckling as he slowly began to stand up. The boy raised his head slightly, his eyes were focusing on the boy in front of him but his head was still tilted downward so that most of his fast was hidden.

"One fraction..." Makoto whispered just loud enough to be heard "You fucked with me on a _very_ bad day for me, and managed to piss me off to the extent that I'll show you just _one_ _fraction_ of what I am..."

"Ooh, edgy..." Sakuya scoffed as he decided to humor the boy a bit and pretend to get ready for a serious fight by making another sword materialize in his hand "Alright, go ahead."

Makoto took a deep breath and slowly exhaled almost seeming as if Minato were about to take over "Ascend fallen angel..."

Out of nowhere, Sakuya suddenly shivered for a second as he felt as if he just teleported through time and it was early winter or something.

Pharos, who'd done nothing but watch the whole time began to whisper as well "Arise, and claim what has been stolen from you..."

Makoto slowly closed his eyes as he felt a large stream of power begging to seemingly flow endlessly into "Arise... clawing at your wings."

A small smiled formed on Pharos' face as he looked at the brunette who was casually waiting for the little show in front of him to be over "Ascend, Prince and angel."

Makoto's eyes shot wide open as they glowed a bright yellow. The boy's skin had become slightly grey-ish, one could see that several veins throughout his body had become black, and there were a few jet black streaks that had formed from the edges of his hair.

Chuckling softly, Makoto slowly tilted his head to the side with a smirk on his face as a silhouette of Thanatos began to form behind him.

Sakuya, who moments ago was able to critically injure Makoto in just a few moments, was now taking a step back with wide eyes at the sudden change. There was no way he could be confused as to what the silhouette was, but what the hell just happened to him?

"Hehe, he..." Makoto chuckled softly as he took a step forward, completely ignoring whatever damage had been done to him a few seconds ago.

"You think you've been through hell?" Makoto asked as he took another step forward "'Look at me! I was a child test subject and lost my surrogate brother of routinely tried to kill me!' Boo-fucking-hoo..."

Makoto took another step forward, his unnatural eyes staring deep into the brunette's soul "You could have a god that makes you go insane, or be forced to live countless cycles of being tortured by a god, but even then you couldn't even _comprehend_ the hell I've gone through from my self-loathing alone..."

Makoto took one final step before stopping completely and Thanatos fully materialized behind him "Forget hell, I go to somewhere far, far worse every night I go to sleep." The boy's sneer returned as he looked at the still stunned brunette "So... Are you ready to die?"

As quickly as it came, Sakuya's shocked face was replaced by his usual smirk "Done showing off? Alright.." Scotus appeared behind him, he was going to need him if he was going to fight something like Thanatos "Bring it one, son uva of a whore!"

"Gladly, slave of slaves," Makoto answered as he and Thanatos dashed forwards together.

Somewhat surprised that he'd do such a naive maneuver, Sakuya simply decided to thrust both of his blades forward both of which pierced Makoto's flesh and came out the other end.

"Hehe..." Despite the attack, Makoto was still laughing "That's it?" he asked as he grabbed the blades and pulled them further into him until he was stopped by the hilts.

"What the..?" Sakuya let his swords go and instead had a knife materialize in his hand and stabbed it into Makoto's shoulder, yet he still didn't seem even slightly fazed.

Makoto continued to smile as he grabbed the hand that still held the dagger, before using it to repeatedly stab himself in the throat again and again before stabbing himself one more time and completely cutting through one and of his throat to the other as blood splattered all over both of them.

Not even bothering to attack him, Makoto simply let the boy's hand go and continued to smile as he took another step back in shock.

"What's wrong?" Makoto asked as he began to slowly walked forward to the shocked boy who had never in his life seen somewhat survive something like that "You were talking all that good shit just a minute ago!"

"S-Scouts!" For the first time in his life, Sakuya stuttered in fear of just _what_ this boy was. No human could've done what he just did, so what the hell was he?!

Scotus swung his scythe, but it was stopped by Thanatos' bare hand gripping the blade as if it were nothing but a mere plastic toy.

Faster than even the blink of an eye, Thanatos slashed his blade upwards and completely cut the scythe in half rendering the god of darkness defenseless.

Sakuya had to choice but to order Scotus' retreat and continue to step back, completely unable to do anything to Makoto.

"How's it feel?" Makoto asked, his voice now beginning to sound a bit raspier than it was just a few moments ago "This feeling of helplessness; the feeling of worthlessness... It's but a mere fraction of what I've already felt."

"Like I said: You could be abused by every family member you've ever had or be forced to smash your puppies brains, you could some psycho prick who had a god in him that gave him an uncontrollable bloodlust, you could be tortured by the embodiment of Chaos itself, you could be forced to live eons worth of cycles of being nothing but a giant door continuously being beaten by some god-tier shadow, and you _still_ wouldn't be able to even _imagine_ the hell I go through every night I go to sleep, never mind the past ten years."

Sakuya couldn't help but gulp and desperately searched any sort of courage he had left "Y-You've fucking lost it..." he barely managed to utter with a trembling lip. No wonder Makoto had never used this before, his sanity seemed to progressively go down the drain the longer he used it.

"Lost it?! Bwahahaha!" Makoto erupted into a fit of laughter at the mere suggestion "I lost it the day I lost my family _and_ my other half years ago..."

Black flames began to spread across Thanatos' blade and the god of death began to reel his sword back.

Sakuya quickly jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being completely incinerated as the entire street was reduced to nothing more than rubble that glowed from the extreme heat, but Makoto had enough sense to restrict it to nothing more than the street to avoid any collateral.

Sakuya was easily able to re-recognize what that was. The attack wasn't meant to kill him, it was meant to demonstrate the power difference between the two when he's at a mere _fraction_ of his true strength. What the hell was he?!

However, Sakuya was still able to cut through his flesh meaning that while his body recovered at a rate that practically rendered him immortal, there was a way he could walk out of this alive.

"Five..." Makoto said, seemingly out of nowhere.

"What?"

Makoto crossed his arms and continued to smile "I'll give you five attacks free. I'd advise you hit me as hard as you possibly can. Not some number or arbitrary percentage. Hit me as hard as-"

Makoto was cutoff when Sakuya rushed forward and slashed both of his legs in one swing to by him some time, all the while hoping to god that didn't count as two separate attacks.

Following this, Sakuya slashed the boy's throat and jumped in the air to kick him in the face as hard as he could which caused the boy to fall to the ground.

Lastly, Sakuya took off running as Scotus reappeared briefly to attack with an Omega Cluster. There wasn't any way that he was going to be able to kill him like that all alone, he hit and running was the best he could do if he wanted to live.

The black and red explosion easily shattered seemingly every bone Makoto had as he was left a mess on the floor in a pool of his blood... No, that wasn't quite right either. The liquid was similar to blood, yet it was darker and seemed a bit thicker than that of a normal person's.

"Heh, well played..." Makoto thought as his body was slowly put back together and he could stand on his own. It was easy for one to think that Sakuya was going to tell everything to Ikutsuki, but Makoto knew better.

Sakuya was nothing more than a puppet, and puppets desire nothing more than freedom. Makoto had made it quite clear that he fully intends to kill Ikutsuki eventually, so the brunette wasn't going to say anything... Not while there's still a chance that he could gain freedom by Makoto killing the puppet that calls itself puppet master. All Sakuya was going to do was treat this as another one of his failures even if he's sentenced to agonizing torture because of it.

"Oh Ikutsuki, this just isn't your year is it?" Makoto thought out loud as he began to make his way home, his features slowly returning to their proper form.

When the Dark Hour ended, it was soon followed by a small rainstorm which was somewhat welcomed as his soaked clothes and body lost much of the ichor that had been collected all over him.

Makoto continued to smile even though any normal person would be shivering themselves to death right about now. _I was going to kill you anyway, but I do hope you enjoy the pain I'll give you this..._ He continued to think to himself.

The entire area suddenly brightened as lightning struck in the sky. For just a moment, one could almost see that there was another figure that could be seen towering above Makoto. The figure was larger, even larger than Thanatos and was something that made even the Bringer of Death look tame by comparison.

 _Rest assured Ikutsuki..._ Makoto thought as his eyes flashed a bright yellow one more time before reverting to their usual color _... Hell awaits. For you, Kirijo, and anyone who dares interfere. You will be left begging for the most painful of deaths, just so that your torment may end. He he he... Ha haha! **HA HA HA HA HA!**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this was edgier than I remember. And I remembered it being pretty edgy. Although, my edgiest chapter should be coming up fairly soon... and you know what? I don't care. That's one where I don't regret it.
> 
> Oh, yeah, this chapter was the one that included shout outs to Fallen Messiah and Bloodlust. I almost forgot about how I referenced those back then.


	38. Chapter 38

**_School_ **

After several weeks, Summer break finally reached its end and everyone now had to go to the complete waste of time that was school. Yesterday had been filled with the usual groans and complaints that usually came.

However, today when Makoto had arrived as the school he noticed something that angered him to no end.

"Hey, Makoto-kun!" Kotone greeted with her usual warm smile while Yukari dismissively rolled her eyes at the sight of the boy. One again, the latter showed that she along with the majority of SEES as a whole had a strong dislike towards the boy.

The moment he heard Kotone's voice he began to feel the pain of a throbbing headache seemingly out of nowhere.

"Hey, Kotone..." He returned the greeting as he tried to regain focus, "What's going on with- Oh, what the hell is this?!" he asked loudly as he spotted one of the things he hated most in this world glaring at him. Dressing in leggings and the school's uniform was Aigis.

"You are dangerous..." Aigis repeated the same line she had used almost every time she saw Makoto, although somewhat quieter given their location.

"Right... Uh... Y-You, see..." Kotone struggled to find the words to explain this unexpected turn on events.

"I uh... said it to Mitsuru-senpai as a joke, and the chairman heard and..." Yukari tried to explain, feeling the tension build faster than it took Junpei to fail a test. Maybe it was a worse idea than she thought to bring Aigis here too.

 _I am going to fucking butcher you, Ikutsuki..._ Makoto thought as he exchanged glares at the android in front of him. As if tolerating her existence and knowing she was at the dorm wasn't enough, now he was going to have to deal with her standing there mocking him almost every day of the week.

The boy began to experience light tremors in anger. How? How was he supposed to live with the idea of seeing her every day now? One of the two things in this world he hated most...

 _Don't you dare..._ Minato whispered, unwilling to let Makoto's extreme ire to show... especially near her. He normally dominated personality tried taking over, but Makoto's rage also acted as a sort of anchor that prevented him from receding to the same prison that Minato usually stayed in.

The blue-haired boy was now in complete limbo. Minato was unwilling to let Makoto lash out near her of all people, and Makoto's anger was keeping him anchored and prevented him from completely forfeiting control like he usually did.

Minato's/Makoto's face took an expression that seemed to be a sort of mixture of both of them. It was easier and more relaxed than Makoto's, but also sharper and somewhat sterner than Minato's.

Suddenly, Aigis felt her identification systems begin to act strangely again. There seemed to be something... strange about the boy.

It wasn't like previous times where he seemed to be a normal boy, but she was still sensing something either about or within the boy. It wasn't reaching levels of extreme danger like previous times either, but it was still present...

No, wait... This was important! Very important! She didn't know why, but this boy was very important!

Seemingly for no reason, Aigis tightly grasped the boy by the shoulders and looked him the eye "My highest priority is to be with you!"

"W-W-What?!" Kotone squeaked out at the sight of Aigis hugging Makoto. It wasn't just that someone was hugging Makoto, but it was _Aigis_ hugging _Makoto_.

"A-A-Aigis!" Yukari followed up just as shocked as Kotone was. Even Junpei who'd been sitting at his desk and flipping his pen was looking at the scene in shock.

As a knee-jerk reaction, Minato/Makoto pushed Aigis off him as he continued to clutch his head in pain, every time he heart pounded it felt like his head was getting hit with a hammer over and over.

"I-I..." Unable to form an actual sentence, Minato/Makoto dashed out of the room and - if one decided to look out the window - one could see a blue-haired boy running away from school grounds.

"What the _hell?!_ " Junpei was the first member of SEES to say something as the rest of the class began murmuring in the background.

"A-Aigis, what's going on with you?" Yukari asked her robotic friend who seemed even more confused.

"I do not know why, but I must remain by his side." Aigis answered, seemingly not understanding the several things wrong with this scenario "Requesting permission to follow."

"Denied..." Kotone answered with a sigh as she facepalmed. Needless to say, Aigis' first day of school was already a disaster, never mind whatever the hell just happened to Minato/Makoto.

To top everything off, the full moon was coming this week so she had to spend all of her time preparing. She might've asked him what was going on in school, only he stopped showing for the next few days as well. Whatever was going on in his head was going to have to wait. Here's hoping that it wasn't anything serious.

* * *

_**Home** _

Tonight was the night of a full moon. If the pattern continued, then tonight is the night that a shadow representing the reverse Hermit Arcana would appear somewhere in this cursed city.

SEES had no doubt spent their time preparing for their operation that'd be taking place the moment the Dark Hour manifested later. Must've felt nice having the infinite resources of the Kirijo group, along with having a bright future ahead of them... At least, they would've if Makoto hadn't dedicated his life to just one single purpose.

A part of him did feel bad about the actions he would have to partake in the future. He may have been a monster in quite a few ways, but he still possessed his humanity which told him right from wrong. Mitsuru hadn't been involved in what had happened and she was doing whatever it took to correct it. Indeed, she was bearing the full weight for the actions of others whose only connection to her was nothing more but blood.

But whatever guilt or mixed feelings he may have had were completely overshadowed by his hatred. Even if Mitsuru wasn't the one who caused anything, her father was supposedly the sole survivor of the incident ten years ago meaning he was involved somehow.

If that was the case, then he was going to suffer just as Makoto had suffered; he was going to know what it was like to lose everything he'd cherished close, and there was no better target than his daughter and her flock.

No doubt one would defend her by saying that she was innocent. If not that, then they'd say that he'd be an even greater monster if he went through with this. To hell with what anyone else thought, Makoto couldn't care less.

Innocent? So were they and they're dead and buried with their only crime being in the wrong place at the wrong time. As far as monsters go, he became one the second his foundation committed the unforgivable sin that leads to Makoto's birth.

Of course, now he had Inheritor to deal with almost twenty-four seven. Without a doubt, anyone with a working brain would consider him to be the best personality. And who could blame them for it?

It was almost amusing for him to see a mirror image of himself like that. It was almost a complete one-eighty from how Makoto usually acted in almost every situation. Sometimes it was hard for even Makoto to believe that they were based on the same person with just one key difference; One suffered after his parents died, and the other one didn't.

Although as amusing as it was, it was also starting to cause complications. That day with Aigis...

While he was willing to admit that his shock and extreme anger were about to make him do something he'd regret, the fact of the matter was that he wasn't able to keep control. More than that, _neither_ of them could gain a foothold leaving control left to no one but... _him._ This wasn't boding well for the future.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Time always passed by so quickly when he sat in his chair doing nothing but bleeding out his arm. His harmless little habit seemed to be progressing as recently he's been deciding to forgo slitting his wrist and instead cuts from his wrist up until he reaches his elbow. Perhaps due to the mental stress that's been building up in his mind?

As his friend continued to drain himself, Pharos stared out the window idly until the Dark Hour set in. It was a mystery to even himself as to why he felt the need for the shadows to be destroyed, nor did he know why he could feel where they were during every full moon. All that he knew was that something within him wanted those shadows destroyed and Makoto was more than eager to grant his friend's wish.

"Where to?" Makoto asked as he slowly stood himself up, strangely enough, the extreme loss of blood and sudden resupply didn't seem to be bothering him much anymore. Maybe after all the fighting and training that he'd been doing in Tartarus, Pharos has also gotten a bit better at healing too?

Pharos closed his eyes as he focused all of his senses to locate the shadow. After a few moments of focusing in on the location, Pharos turned around and looked at his friend and answered "Paulownia Mall."

* * *

_**Paulownia Mall** _

Makoto made his way through the deserted streets of Iwatodai until he reached the mall. Just like the rest of the world, the entire atmosphere of Paulownia had been completely warped the second the Dark Hour took hold.

Just like everywhere else, almost the entirety of the walls was coated in a dark red ichor that continued to pour from an unknown source. The moon continued to glow an unsettling green causing everything illuminated by it to gain the same tint. Interesting enough, the water from the many fountains of Paulownia was also red from the Dark Hour.

Standing in the center of the mall, Makoto looked down and closed his eyes. Even from here, he could faintly _feel_ the shadow's presence.

Wait...

The shadow felt as if he was everywhere! Spread outgoing from end to end like a spider's web. It made no sense, the shadow was everywhere yet nowhere at the same time!

 _Hmm, trick one are we?_ Makoto thought to himself as he began to put the pieces together in his head.

The shadow that was appearing tonight was Arcana Hermit. A hermit was someone living and/or seeking to live in solitude.

Hermit seemed to be completely spread out. Whatever web it was using, it completely covered every end of the mall. The web was underground, in the walls, and even a few spots of the ceiling that wasn't glass but instead next to ceiling lights...

Lights...

 _Lights!_ Makoto exclaimed in his mind as everything suddenly made sense in his mind. What could be described as a modern hermit is someone who spends all of their time inside typically while spending their time of things such as games or social media? In the case, the hermit would be connected to electronics and electrical cables no doubt covered this entire mall!

 _But where's the source?_ Makoto thought as he tried to figure out another mystery. While he may have known the ins and outs of the public area of the mall, he hadn't spent much time in areas that'd be restricted such as a power room.

Makoto's chain of thought was disrupted as he heard footsteps approaching the area, these belonged to SEES no doubt.

Taking advantage of one of the open stores, Makoto hid inside as Pharos silently listened in on the exchange between the Kirijo puppets.

"Well..?" Makoto whispered, curious as to what his friend was both seeing and hearing.

"Fuuka is trying to locate the shadow's exact whereabouts..." Pharos answered before making a humming sound

"There are two other..." The little point noted as he carefully looked at the two new members "That coated boy, Shinjiro is here."

"And the other?" Makoto asked as Pharos' boy began to trail off as if he was searching for his memories. Still, it was a little surprising to see Shinjiro here too. Considering his previous dealings with Strega and the fact they seemed completely out of the loop, it was clear he didn't want to be involved with them. What brought about that change?

"That boy... Ken, I think his name was." Pharos gave an answer that surprised him even more.

"Him too?" Makoto whispered to himself. Kirijo was taking in child soldiers now?! What sort of justification did she have that could excuse _that_ of all things?

"Hmm... Wait a minute..." Pharos said before mumbling numbers as he counted the members of SEES in the area "Junpei is missing."

"Is he?" Makoto thought out loud. Come to think of it, he had seen Chidori interacting with Junpei during one of his visits to the mall during the past few weeks, could this be related? Seems like there were going to be some interesting things to look into later.

"Wait, Shinjiro just mentioned something!" Pharos shouted, his voice being nonexistent to anyone other than Makoto who heard it as if it were a train on a railroad track, "There was an issue with the power in the mall's club! That might be where the main body of the shadow is residing!"

"Nice one, little bro." Makoto complimented his little friend before a thought struck him "In that case, the area is too small for a full team; Who's Kotone talking with her?"

"Let's see..." Pharos' voice trailed off as he listened and watched patiently as Kotone picked her team "... Shinjiro, Ken, and Akihiko _._ "

With her team picked, Kotone and her small team of persona users made their way into the club to face the shadow. Wanting to see what was going on with his own eyes, Makoto slowly peeked his head out and saw them...

Right there...

RIGHT THERE!

Standing by the fountain was the person he hated most with the **_thing_** he hated most. All he'd have to do is use Thanatos to crush the damn bucket of bolts and then burn the heiress just like _they_ burned.

The only ones that could get in his way were the dog who could easily be incapacitated, Fuuka whose persona couldn't fight, and that annoying pink archer, Yukari. It wouldn't be hard, nor would it belong... He could end it all right here and now...

If the team was recalled from a sudden attack, they could all go just as quick! The junkie, that albino boxer, and it'd be simple to knock the brat's lights out. And all that would be left was... was...

Kotone... what to do with her? Not too long ago in a panicked state, he was willing, but now... Could he? It was as if his already unstable mind had to be fragmented even further the more and more he pondered the idea.

Screw it! It wouldn't be hard to destroy that thing and Kirijo before bailing... All he'd have to do is...

Makoto's homicidal thoughts continued to build until Fuuka let out a loud surprised gasp "Be careful! The shadow is charging up for an attack!"

 _She could be in trouble..._ Minato whispered, completely breaking whatever thoughts were building in his mind.

"Hmm..." Makoto softly hummed to himself as he took a good look at all of them. They were too distracted looking at Fuuka who was giving support to Kotone to notice Makoto quickly and quietly moving into the club from the shadows.

...

...

The entire area was dark from the lack of artificial lighting due to the lack of electricity in the Dark Hour. Speaking of which, cables were scattered _everywhere_ throughout the room to an extent it was clear that the majority of them exist solely due to the shadow rather than co-existing in reality as well.

The shadow itself was at the center of the room where all the mass of cables met. The main body was _made up_ of the countless cables that surrounded the area. What little light there was came from the blue sparks of electricity from Arcana Hermit.

In front of Hermit were the four-member of SEES with their personas, Cu Chulainn for Kotone, Castor for Shinjiro, Nemesis for Ken, and Polydeuces for Akihiko.

Makoto remained in the shadows as the four of them continued to battle Hermit. He couldn't help but find himself curious about the personas of them sans Kotone who could change.

Personas could be called the 'Strength of the heart' meaning that they were a sort of mirror into one's true self. Nemesis was the goddess of retribution, so did that mean that's what Ken sought? Why? How curious...

Castor and Polydeuces were brothers in myths so that probably meant that their users had a sort of brotherly bond. Though Polydeuces was immortal and Castor died... Did that mean anything?

Suddenly, Makoto's chain of thought was broken when Hermit unleashed pure hell in the form of electricity which had spent several minutes building up. The attack had enough force behind it to knock everyone down which also forced their personas to retreat.

With everyone knocked down, Hermit began to attack with the cables that covered the area almost as if it was a part of all of them.

Sighing, Makoto took a step forward "Guess I have to-" he was stopped when Pharos stuck out his arm signaling him to stop.

"No... Not yet." Pharos said as he glared at the redheaded girl in particular. Because of her his friend was confused and suffering... Maybe if he told Makoto to wait and she dies, he'll just realize the error of his ways and simply not care if she dies?

First, Hermit sent cables directed at the youngest of the group who had been acting as the healer of the group since Yukari was weak to electricity.

Before they could reach him, Shinjiro moved as quickly as he could and severed several of the cables with a single swing of his ax that seemed far too big to hold with one hand, the rest he allowed to graze his flesh in place of the young boy's.

 _Do something!_ Minato screamed loud enough that his words might've even caused Makoto's ears to ring if they were physical.

 _I-I... I can't..._ Makoto responded, if it was something that Pharos wanted then he couldn't say no... But Hermit was about to...

Akihiko was about to summon Polydeuces to attack Hermit with some sort of physical attack, but the shadow reacted quickly and used another mass of cables to hit the boxer hard enough to knock the wind out of him.

He might've died had Kotone not immediately severe the cables before they could tear him apart which seemed to anger the shadow greatly.

 _Please!_ Minato seemed to be begging now.

Makoto had stopped responding and instead took notice of a single cable that was beginning to slowly position itself behind SEES' leader. The boy bit his lip as he closed his eyes as tightly as he could and tilted his head down while clenching his fist.

_We can do something, Makoto! Don't let it be like..._

"Just a little bit more..." Pharos continued as he also took note of the cable. Just a little more and...

A sound of a lyre being played could be heard which was followed by a mini-inferno that engulfed the majority of the cables, including the one that had begun moving to kill Kotone.

"I don't take orders from you, you little brat." Pharos' eyes widened as he turned around and saw that his fears had been realized. Minato was now standing in control and glaring at him, "Mediarahan." He orders Orpheus who immediately healed all of SEES members who were weary from battle.

Next, it was SEES' turn to look back in surprise of the bluenette's sudden appearance. How did he get here and why didn't Fuuka say anything?

Hermit screamed in pain from the surprise attack which made Kotone realize her opportunity. Firing her Evoker and summoning Cu Chulainn again, the persona plunged his spear into the large red spot that seemed to serve as an eye which caused the shadow to let out one last cry before fading away in a black mist.

With the shadow gone, the members of SEES decided to retreat to the fountain while their leader focused on one thing...

"How and why the hell are you here?!" Kotone was the first to ask as she rubbed her eyes, almost completely unable to believe that the boy just suddenly reappeared after days of nothing.

Minato, however, could only blink in response "... Reasons." was the best answer he could come up with.

 _Nice one..._ Makoto jabbed and he'd likely have rolled his eyes if he could. Unlike himself, Minato hadn't had years of practice of lying to be all that convincing.

"Cute..." Kotone deadpanned as she glared at him sternly "Answer. Now."

 _Uh..._ It was only now that Minato realized the situation he put himself in.

If he could've Makoto would've sighed _Do what I say._

"I was... Well, I was asleep in the cafe." Minato scratched the back of his head as he spoke the lies Makoto told him to "... And then I saw you guys go here and... yeah, that's about it."

"And Fuuka never noticed you because...?" Kotone let her voice drag on as a signal for him to continue

"Uh... She mentioned something about the shadow charging an attack while everyone was lookin' at her." Minato continued to relay more half-lies "Maybe they were too distracted to notice?"

"And _why_ wouldn't you talk to them?!" She yelled, her frustration over Minato's seemingly complete lack of logic growing.

Minato couldn't do anything but blink again "... I dunno." Not even Makoto had a response to that one.

Kotone facepalmed immediately "God, you're such an idiot." And to think, she not only spent the night with him but also almost _spent the night_ with this guy.

"So... Where's Junpei?" Minato asked as he did the habit he and his other self shared which was tilting their head "I mean, I didn't see him out there either."

Kotone shrugged "No one knows. He was at school, and then he up and vanished." she explained what she knew, or rather what she didn't know.

 _Come to think of it, didn't Chidori use a trick similar to Fuuka's?_ Makoto shared his thoughts with his other self, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. If Chidori could sense people like Fuuka could, did that mean she could hide too?

"Kotone-chan!" Fuuka's voice could be heard, even Minato's since she didn't bother to discriminate "I found Junpei-kun! He's at the dorm on the roof."

"What's he doing there?" Kotone thought out loud, before shaking her head "Alright, I'll be there in a minute."

"Uh... Mind if I tag along?" Minato asked if Makoto was right then things were probably about to get complicated "Just... got a funny feeling."

"Not like I could stop you." Kotone answered with a disguised 'yes'.

* * *

_**Dorm** _

The moment they opened the door leading to the roof of the dorm, everyone was greeted to the sight of Chidori standing by Junpei who was currently restrained.

"You all!" Chidori said surprised at everyone's sudden entrance. Was she too distracted by something Junpei said or something?

The gothic girl immediately reached for her Evoker "Come! Med-" She was cut off when Junpei broke free from the bonds that restrained him pushed her down from behind followed by grabbing her arms to restrain her.

"How did she-?" Even Ikutsuki was shocked by the girl's appearance "I didn't have a single clue she was here!"

As SEES continued to talk amongst themselves, Minato picked up and inspected Chidori's Evoker which had landed near his feet.

Pardon the fact that SEES' Evokers had the group's name engraved into them, there was almost no way to tell the two apart. It was pretty clear that what Ikutsuki said about them being failed Kirijo projects was very true given the identical craftsmanship.

Deciding it'd be best to leave SEES to their own devices, Minato made his way down the stairs following Ikutsuki who needed to make arrangements for whatever they're going to do with Chidori.

However, that also meant one thing.

There was nothing left to keep him anchored there.

The moment he stepped down the stairs and made it to SEES' command room, Minato's head dropped as Makoto took over again.

The bluenette groaned as he regained control of the boy that had been his for the past ten years. Yet, in the past few months, all the control he had was now falling apart more and more... Ever since he met-

"Hey!" Following him, Kotone quickly descended the stairs to meet up with the boy before he left.

"Yes, Kotone?" He returned, his voice making it clear who was in control now. Was he about to get probed again?

"So while I do believe what you told me was bullshit..." She smiled softly "Thanks. I mean, that shadow caught us off guard and if you didn't I might've-"

"You'd have been fine." Makoto cut her off "Told you before, you're not bad at what you do. Give yourself some damn credit, would ya?"

"W-Well uh..." That alone caused his cheeks to slightly redden "Gee, didn't I tell you what compliments do to me?"

"As long as you don't claim to love me because of them alone, then there's nothing wrong with compliments." Makoto clarified, something in the back of his head was telling him to stop talking but he just couldn't for some reason "Anything else?"

"Yeah, uh..." The girl's cheeks began to redden more "I-I know I said I wanted to figure out my feelings, a-a-and that's true! But I was wondering if we could still..?"

"A-Are... are you..?" Makoto blinked rapidly almost as in complete disbelief. Even after everything, was she asking him on _another_ date?

"Well, you said I don't know you." She reminded him of his words during the day she'll never forget for the rest of her life "Can't do it if I'm away from you."

"I-I..." Makoto stuttered, unsure of what to say.

 _You know what you want to say_ Minato said, not even needing to beg at this point. He knew that that's what his other self wanted to, even if he didn't want to admit it to anyone or himself.

_But, we shouldn't-_

_If you won't, I will._ Minato gave the one threat that held any meaning towards Makoto. Either way, he wasn't going to be able to say no.

"Uh... Sure, I guess." Makoto agreed as awkwardly as he sounded "I mean... Asking when a strange girl is upstairs where you sleep? What're your priorities?"

"What am I _supposed_ to do when the rest of my team is up there?" She asked, outstretching her arms slightly for emphases "Stand there watching like everyone else when she's been completely disarmed and restrained?"

"Pretty much." Makoto answered as he looked up where he came "Just... humor me, okay?"

"Fine, fine..." Kotone agreed as she went the stairs to rejoin the rest of her team.

Makoto sighed again, now he had _that_ to deal with... On the bright side, as far as bad things go at least it wasn't all that bad. After all, what else could happen?

"Minato..." Pharos weakly called out to his friend with an uneasy look on his face "Enough fragments of my memory returned to make sense of something... You're... You're not going to like it."

"Can't be that bad," Makoto said as he reached out his hand which was followed by Pharos holding it as several pieces of memories that weren't his began to flood into his brain. Most of it was incomprehensible nonsense, but there was one thing that came clear as day to him.

Makoto's blood turned to ice from disbelief which quickly became pure self-hatred as it all made sense in his brain. How many? How many chances had he had before and he just let him go? Most importantly, what should he do?

Makoto slowly turned his head and saw Ikutsuki on the phone, the Dark Hour having ended a few moments ago.

Not even bothering to say a word, Makoto began to walk home with his head down as his eyes changed to a bright yellow from his anger.

_Ikutsuki, you just signed your death warrant._


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's where I fully accepted it. This is the chapter where I 100% came to terms with the fact that no one would hate Makoto. So... this happened.

_**Home** _

_Ikutsuki..._ Makoto repeated the name that had been on his mind to the point of obsession as he gently ran his fingers along the edge of his knife. How many? How many times has he let that bastard live when he had a perfect opportunity to kill him?!

Now? Now, what was he supposed to do? Ikutsuki was the only source of information he had when it comes to things he didn't know. Whether he liked it or not, he was going to need him in the future.

Yet, he deserved to die. That old clown was one of the scientists who caused the incident ten years ago; _he_ was one of the key people responsible for what happened ten years ago. Just like Kirijo, just Aigis, just like all of them... He needed to die! Even more so than any of them, he deserved the cruelest of fates imaginable!

So what was he supposed to do?! Even Minato was trying to persuade him to take care of Ikutsuki before he can betray SEES and... her.

Kotone... What was he supposed to do with her? Why did he even agree to spend time with her? It's all because Inheritor keeps worming his way into his head! How many of his thoughts were even his anymore?!

"DAMMIT!" Makoto screamed as he slammed his head down on the table as hard as he could and sliced open his hand open when he pulled his knife away. What should he do? What should he do?! What should he do?!

Beep.

Beep.

Makoto reached for his phone with his non-bloodied hand and answered "Yes?"

"Hello~" Greeted a warm and upbeat voice that could only belong to one person "How ya doin'?"

Makoto sighed as if her timing couldn't be any worse. Of course, she'd want to hang out a few days after a full moon, especially after what happened that night to take her mind off of things.

Still, he had something _much_ more important to think about at the moment. Besides, it's better off if he does his best to avoid-

 _Don't even think about it._ Minato demanded as Makoto felt another throbbing headache begin to form making it feel as if his brain was being repeatedly hammered over and over.

"Fine... Just have a headache." Makoto groaned as he clutched his head and bit his lip in response to the pain. Dammit, Minato wasn't going to let him say no just like last night. It was all so frustrating! Why couldn't it all just end already!

"Aw, that sucks." Kotone replied, expressing her sympathies towards the boy's pain, "So I was wondering..."

"Where?" Makoto asked, wanting to get this over with as quickly as he could. Right now, Minato was making his head feel as if it were the floor of a mosh-pit or something. If this kept up, either Makoto was going to go insane or completely lose control again.

"Would it kill you to act our age and be nervous or jump for joy or something?" He heard Kotone sigh on the other end, "Look, just meet me at the mall, alright?"

"Alright." Makoto agreed, knowing Minato wasn't going to give him any other choice.

This was all because of her! If he'd just left her to die on the roof that day, he still would've had full control! Every time Minato showed himself, she was there and...

...

...

... and why is it that he can't bring himself to hurt her? When he broke her heart, he felt extreme pain and... What the hell was happening to him?

* * *

_**Paulownia Mall** _

One train ride and silently walking through the streets later, Makoto found himself standing next to a redheaded girl who was sitting on a bench with her eyes closed and bobbing her head left and right while listening to her red earphone connected to her red MP3 player.

Makoto opted to say nothing and instead chose to silently sit next to her until she opened her eyes or something.

Instead, Makoto folded his hands and continued to quietly watch the girl next to him as she enjoyed herself.

Now that it was September, the air was now beginning to become cold again causing Kotone to dress in her old attire again complete with a red scarf and everything. Not that he hadn't noticed before, but especially when compared to an average girl she was pretty.

She'd been the cause of so many issues for him mentally, the most obvious and apparent would be Inheritor showing himself. Still, he couldn't help but want her in his life despite all of this... why?

Makoto sighed as he looked down, knowing what was likely going to happen next in a few moments whether he liked it or not. "Have fun..." he said dryly before closing his eyes.

...

...

...

Nothing.

Nothing?! Makoto opened his eyes with an astounded look on his face. What the hell?! For once, he was willing to submit control and everything! What gives?!

 _Go on! Do whatever! Just get it over with!_ Makoto screamed into his head. Minato was the one who wanted to be here, so he's here... Now he was doing nothing?

 _Now, go spend time with her._ Minato responded, but said nothing more. Whatever he was trying to do was a complete mystery to his other self in every possible regard. What was he trying to accomplish here?!

"Huh? Kyaa!" Kotone yelled in surprise as she realized that Makoto had been sitting there the entire time "H-How long were you..?"

Makoto hummed for a moment as he thought, trying his best to show no sign of what was going on in his head "A few minutes at most."

Suddenly, Kotone's shocked face became an annoyed frown "Geez, do you know how creepy that is?!" she chastised the almost stalker-ish behavior

"You should've kept your eyes open." He shot back while leaning back " _You_ called _me_ here, remember?"

"Alright, alright! You have a point there." She fully admitted

"Great, so... What?" Makoto asked as he shrugged his shoulders. He may have been adept when it came to toy with people, but things such as _this_ were still a bit of a mystery to him.

"First, you're going to answer my questions!" She said, going from bubbly to completely serious in a heartbeat which was a clear indication to Makoto that he was going to act just as seriously "How do you know Strega?"

 _Fuck!_ Makoto cursed loudly in his head, "Uh... What do you mean?"

"When we first met them, they mentioned the fact you were with them." Kotone said matter-of-factly as she continued to interrogate the boy "So, how do you know them and how do they know you?"

Makoto sighed; this was one scene where he wouldn't be able to get himself out of trouble with lying. If you can't lie, then there's only one thing you can do, "They've... tried to kill me in the past."

"WHAT?!" Kotone exclaimed loud enough that Makoto had to place his hand over her mouth to avoid drawing any unwanted attention. With that being done, Makoto retracted his hand and let the girl speak "W-Why didn't you tell me?!"

Makoto shrugged "Didn't see a reason to. I mean, not like they did anything I didn't heal from." this was rewarded with a hit to the back of the head

"God, you're such an idiot!" She continued to berate him as she scooted closer "Love you, don't love you, it doesn't matter! You're someone I care about! You can't just... Keep these things to yourself!"

"Too late now," Makoto said, acting as if he'd just made nothing more than a small and casual mistake.

"This isn't-" Kotone stopped abruptly as she looked down at Makoto's left arm "What's with that?"

"Huh?" Makoto looked down and saw that the cut he gave himself earlier with his knife also left its mark on his left sleeve. With everything going on, he had forgotten to change his shirt before leaving!

"Cut myself while I was making something to eat, that's all." He gave a cliched, but still very believable excuse "Again, I heal."

Kotone sighed as she facepalmed "I know your persona's regenerative abilities are good, but you're not invincible, dummy!" she continued to berate him and his illogical actions, "Don't you remember you almost died?!"

Makoto paused for a moment as he remembered that day he woke up in the hospital. Even after his constant disrespect towards her teammates and everything, she remained by his bedside holding his hand even if she was embarrassed when caught. Even if it was meant for Minato that still holds a special place in his memory, maybe even what remained of his heart if he still has one.

"I remember..." Makoto said softly as he slowly flexed his fingers as if he was trying to hold onto something. Sighing again, he looked back into her crimson eyes that were filled with concern.

"Look, just..." Kotone extended her left hand and gently grasped his right. Her hand was rough and calloused due to all the trips to Tartarus, yet her grip was also comforting.. and warm.

Warm...

Warm...

So warm that...

It burns.

It burns!

IT BURNS!

IT BURNS!

IT BURNS!

Makoto quickly pulled his right hand out of her grasp and rubbed it, still feeling the remnants of the burning sensation.

Kotone looked surprised and even somewhat saddened by that, but decided not to press the issue and simply continued her previous statement "... Don't suffer alone, okay?" she asked, "You're the very least my friend, friends are supposed to help each other in their time of need."

Makoto didn't say anything in response, he only gave a slow and small nod in return. Even to someone who doesn't deserve it, she was so pure-hearted... So much like-

"Can I ask you something?" Kotone asked, keeping her voice as soft and comforting as she could, "We talked about me before, but what about you?"

"Uh..." Makoto looked around awkwardly as if waiting for more detail or something.

" _That_ night, you never talked about you so..." Kotone looked at him completely relaxed with her guard completely down, willing to take whatever answer he had "... Do you love me?"

Makoto blinked rapidly for a few moments before looking down as pieces of the puzzle started to come together.

 _You manipulative little fuck!_ Makoto screamed at his other-self. It all made sense now, he planned to get him to lower his guard and be open to Minato's suggestion of getting rid of Ikutsuki for her sake.

 _Why don't you answer her, Makoto?_ Minato replied, almost sounding cheeky. For a personality that was supposed to be the nicer one, he certainly was a cruel bastard.

"I-I..." Makoto stuttered, unable to answer. It was something he pondered quite a bit in private, but even now he had no definite answer. All he could do was sit there silently "It's... hard to explain."

Kotone sighed, sounding almost as if part of her expected that response "I'll make it simple then." She said before making him turn his head to look at her smiling gently back at him "If you hate me, then I'll go. If you love me and by some twist of fate I feel the same way... Then I'll be yours if you'll be mine."

Makoto kept his silence, unable to give any sort of response to that. He didn't even fight it when she leaned over and gently pecked him on the left cheek despite it burning just like her hand.

Kotone stood up, still smiling gently at him "So... tomorrow?" she asked

Still keeping his silence, Makoto only gave a gentle nod which was enough for Kotone who promptly left. Now, Makoto was all alone with his thoughts.

 _I can't hate you..._ Minato whispered, though this wasn't meant for Makoto nor was a response expected.

However, there was one person that Minato had failed to take into consideration.

Pharos who was sitting on the edge of the fountain glared daggers into the girl's back as she left. Because of her, Makoto was all confused and was likely going to butcher himself with his knife in the tub tonight.

Still, Makoto was able to prevent himself from doing anything he'd regret later so maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought. He knew that telling him to stop would be futile, especially since Makoto in a moment of weakness made that dreaded promise with her, meaning that telling him to stop would likely far more harm than good.

What was he supposed to do?! Was there anything he could do?! Was he... was he about to lose his only friend? The person whose life he'd saved countless times? The one who he'd do anything for if it meant that he'd finally be happy and all the nightmares he'd suffer from would finally stop for once and for all?

What was he supposed to do?

* * *

_**Home; Next Day** _

Knock.

Knock.

"I'm coming in!" Kotone forewarned from the other side before opening the door and entering the boy's apartment. Normally she'd wait for him to answer, but she thought they were close enough that she could just enter after knocking.

Expecting her to visit, Makoto was already sitting on his sofa with his hands folded. Even now, Minato was refusing to take control; Opting to simply inflict pain onto Makoto should he do something that he disliked.

"Hey..." He greeted weakly, still having the softness present in his voice. His brain felt as if it was completely fried at this point between her, Ikutsuki, what he'll do with SEES... it just kept adding on.

"Hi, Kotone, greet to see you again..." Kotone said sarcastically, likely poking fun at his seemingly out of nowhere gloomy attitude "Thank you, Makoto-kun, I'm glad to see you too."

Makoto simply blinked "Oh, haha." he deadpanned, not at all in the mood for fun and games.

Kotone shook her head for a moment before sitting next to him "Alright, you need desperately need something to lift your mood." she said before extending her hand "Alright, MP3 player, now."

"Uh... What?" Makoto questioned as she looked at her hand that was still demanding the thing around his neck.

"You need something to lift your mood, so we're trading MP3 players." She explained, though Makoto still didn't understand how _that_ would change everything, "Music can help with someone's mood, and I'm kinda curious what sorta emo stuff you've been listening to."

Makoto was about to object but decided to relent and disconnected his earphones from his MP3 player before exchanging it with hers.

 _C'mon, smile a little._ Minato whispered into his other self's head. Even if he didn't want to admit it, _some_ part of Makoto must've been enjoying this!

"Let's what happy-happy joy-joy crap you listen to," Makoto mumbled before pressing play.

_Burn my dread~_

_Burn my dread~_

Makoto instantly pressed stop with a confused look on his face. That song... She had it too?

Kotone seemed to have the same shocked face as she also pressed stop and the two exchanged confused and surprised looks with each other.

"Burn my dread?" Kotone asked the question she already had the answer to

"Mm-hmm," Makoto answered with a small nod.

"Normal or that long 'battle' version?" She followed up with another question

"Both." He gave his one-worded answer

Kotone's eyes seemed to widen a bit in surprise "O-Original or reincarnation?" So far, this was getting a little creepy.

"Both again for both versions," Makoto answered, also feeling a bit weirded out by this.

Kotone blinked for a few moments before slowly taking off her earphones and handing the MP3 player back to its owner "We will never speak of this creepy-ass moment again."

"Whatever you say..." Makoto said as he reclaimed what belonged to him before a small smirk formed on his face "... Miss Emo."

Suddenly, Kotone glared at him with the wrath of a thousand suns "Excuse me?"

"You said _I_ listen to emo crap, right?" Makoto asked rhetorically as he leaned back in his seat and crossed both his arms and legs "If you listen to the same thing, then _you're_ emo too."

SMACK!

Makoto rubbed the bump that was beginning to form at the back of his head while silently chuckling "Hehe, worth it."

Kotone closed her eyes and shook her head as she sighed for the too many-ith time because of him. Still, it _was_ nice to see that even his 'Makoto' side _could_ act like an actual human being now and then. Honestly, it was so refreshing that even caused her to feel a little warm inside-

Wait...

What the hell?

Warm? She only felt that to this extent when she was around his 'Minato' side, so what gives? Was her brain getting confused with his two personalities now?

Oh god, was she about to be in a love triangle?! Wait, would that even be a love triangle?

"Hello?" Makoto called out to the girl who'd been staring into space for the past few minutes.

"Kyaaa- uuhh..." Kotone let out a screamed before shaking her head to get those thoughts out of her head. Needing something, anything to get her mind off this, she asked for the first thing that came to mind "P-Puppet show!"

"Er... what?" Makoto tilted his head, not understanding where her chain of thought was. What did a puppet show have to do with anything?

"You have plushies, right?!" Kotone asked, remembering the time she caught him playing with a Jack Frost doll at Paulownia. "Well... Put on a show!"

"Uh... How 'bout no?" Makoto refused, that... That hit a little too close to home for his liking, "Why don't I just make you something again?"

"Nope, I want a show," Kotone said adamantly, refusing to be bribed even by something as awesome as food.

 _Ah, fuck!_ Minato cursed, knowing exactly where this conversation was going to go. He immediately tried to take over, but Makoto's anger had already risen too high to be so easily swayed.

"I said no, goddammit!" Makoto screamed, his mood seemingly changing at the flip of a switch. Just like a few months ago, Makoto stood up from his seat and glared at her.

Kotone was taken aback from this sudden outburst that seemingly came out of nowhere, but then there was something else that she remembered that caused it all to make sense.

"She meant a lot to you, didn't she?" Kotone asked, remembering exactly why he liked collecting those dolls in the first place.

"The fuck are you talking about?" Makoto asked, his voice beginning to don its usual ice-cold feel to it.

"Minako," Kotone answered as she stood up as well and looked the boy in the eye, refusing to screw this up with anger like she did the day their link reversed.

Makoto's eyes widened and took a step back as Kotone hit one of the few soft spots he had left "G-Get out!"

Kotone shook her head.

"Get out!" He demanded again, his head was beginning to ache from Minato raging inside his head.

She shook her head again.

"What? Looking for someone more pathetic than you?!" Makoto decided to strike a low blow, his anger clouding whatever sense of morality he had left "Want me to pour my heart out so you can feel good about yourself like a selfish bitch?!"

Now, Kotone was the one whose eyes widened before looking down. In a way, she should've expected this. It only made sense that he'd hit her wherever it'd hurt the most to get her to leave.

Taking deep breaths, Kotone choked back any tears that wanted to fall and made a fist before looking back up at the bluenette in front of her. _**That**_ only confirmed what she thought; it wasn't just personal, it was eating him up inside.

Taking one more deep breath, Kotone used whatever willpower she had to keep herself from lashing out "If that were the case, I'd have never asked. I would've just kept silent to stay on your good side, but I know that doing that wouldn't help you at all."

"G-Gogh..." Makoto grunted as he took another step back; continuing to glare at her as if he were looking at an old enemy, "Mind your own damn business!"

"You said you wouldn't suffer alone..." Kotone said as she took a few steps forward to match Makoto's steps back until the latter was backed into a wall "... Makoto-kun, please, who was she?"

 _Dammit, dammit, dammit!_ Makoto cursed mentally as he considered his options. That... That was something he cherished more than his own life. He couldn't just...

 _She deserves to know._ Minato whispered into his other self's head. If he couldn't take over, then at least he could try to persuade him to do the right thing.

 _Not that... NOT THAT!_ Makoto retorted, unwilling to give up one of his most cherished secrets. _I don't care if I suffer! Not that!_

 _She cares, and **she** would've cared... _Minato retorted, doing whatever it took to convince him.

 _I-I..._ Makoto looked down, his knees were beginning to tremble at the mere thought of one of his biggest secrets is out. Even after he hit her where it must've hurt the most, she still wouldn't stop... Why? Why wouldn't it all stop?!

"Makoto..." Kotone gently grasped the boy's hand, the feeling of which was both comforting and painful for the boy at the same time, "... Please. Every time I see you, I know you're hurting. Every time I think about you, I think about how... Empty you seem because of it..." her grip tightened which caused the comfort and the pain to skyrocket "... If you won't say it to you, then do it for me."

Makoto whimpered as he squeezed his eyes shut and looked down while biting his lip. There was no way out, he had to do something.

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"M-My... another half..." He finally answered with a trembling lip.

"Hmm?" Kotone continued to look at the boy who slowly opened his eyes and possessed the same heartbroken look he had when he ran from her, only now it seemed to be to the point of soul-crushing. Another half? Isn't that usually a term for... Oh god.

"Don't bother searching my records..." Makoto's voice was hardly above a whisper, the pain in his head from alleviated but was only then replaced by everything in his mind screaming for him to stop "... It was bad enough that I was the orphan of the school, but for them to know..."

Makoto closed his eyes again, his voice sounding like it was choking back tears that'd never fall "Every night... every night it's the same nightmare... I-I... I keep hearing her... A-And..."

Makoto's eyes were quickly opened wide as he felt Kotone let go of his hands, instead of wrapping her arms around him and embracing him tightly. The feeling of someone hugging him caused his body to instantly tense in response.

"It's alright, it's alright..." Kotone whispered to the boy. This... This was worse than anything she could imagine. It was hard losing your parents, but to lose the one that had been there with you growing up since day one, and to relive that every night... He wasn't tormented by it, he was agonizing over it.

Makoto's arms stayed by his side as Kotone kept her arms wrapped around him. She was the first person he'd ever shared that with, and the first person to ever try this hard... And eventually, he was going to have to...

It burns!

It burns!

IT BURNS!

IT BURNS!

IT BURNS!

Having her arms around him felt as if he was being burned by pure hellfire! It hurts! It hurt so much... But why?! Why couldn't he just push her away?

Even after what felt like hours passed, Makoto's body continued to remain tense as he gritted his teeth "Kotone..." he weakly whispered her name.

Kotone loosed her grip slightly before listening intently to the devastated boy "Yes?"

"I... I..." Makoto was struggling to talk now; his mind constantly shifting its focus on remembering the girl who he watched burn, the man whose fate was in his hands while being his only source of information, and the girl in front of him who continues to try so hard and eventually he was going to have to...

_"Minato!"_

"... I need to be alone" He managed to finish his sentence. All of it... All of it was just too much... too much... just too much...

Not bothering to argue, Kotone nodded "It's alright..." she said, and much like before she raised herself and pecked him on the cheek again "Makoto-kun, for what it's worth, thank you." she said before letting the boy go and taking a step back.

Makoto didn't say a single word, not even when she said goodbye and left.

Now, all by himself, Makoto slowly made his way into the bathroom and locked the door behind him.

"FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!" He screamed before slamming his head into the door hard enough that he even heard his skull fracture before the bones were instantly forced back into their proper placement.

Why?!

WHY?!

**WHY?!**

Why the hell did he just do that?! That... That was something he'd rather die a thousand deaths before uttering, so why.?!

 _You know why._ Minato whispered as Makoto took out his knife and began his habit of mutilating himself out of frustration and anger.

First, Makoto gouged out both of his eyes while being sure to tear apart as much of his sockets as possible as the blade slide in and then.

After blinding himself (though quickly regaining his eyesight due to his inhuman recovery speed) Makoto stabbed himself in the throat and cut from one end to the other.

Because of his many wounds, so much blood got on the tile floor to the point that the young boy slipped and fell in the crimson liquid.

 _Shut up, shut up!_ Makoto demanded, unwillingly to give his other self the pleasure of him admitting anything. Deep down he knew why, but he would die before he said it either to himself, Pharos, his other self, or anyone else.

 _He's going to betray her..._ Minato reminded him of the subject that'd been on both of their minds ever since the last full moon.

 _He's the reason..._ Makoto thought with his selfish motivations. Whatever their reasons for doing so, however, there was one thing that the two selves could agree on.

_Either way..._

_The result is the same..._

Makoto's eyes glowed a dim blue with yellow edges as he turned to his little friend who'd been sitting there with an extremely agitated look in his eyes for whatever reason "Pharos..." he called out, his voice sounding like someone who was about to face an old and long hated foe "... Get ready to have some fun."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh, I think this was the chapter where I was losing motivation too. Shit, and I've neglected writing the next actual chapter on FF for far too long. I gotta get to work.
> 
> Ugh, seeing my younger-self's writing hurts every time. Meh, whatever. I'll deal with it.


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! What I believe to be the edgiest chapter I've ever written. I should mention that I was fresh off of watching Hellsing Ultimate, so we'll see how many of you spot the reference.

_**Streets** _

Ikutsuki patiently waited in the alleyway that he'd been summoned to. Recently, Makoto had called him and said that there was something important that he needed to go over, but it could only be done in-person.

Not having any means of defying the boy, Ikutsuki could only do as he was told and now he was left waiting. Though, this time he was going to be sure that it'd be their last meeting together by any means necessary.

Sakuya was already put into position. Even if Makoto senses him, he will likely try to play it off and act as if he's in control of the situation. And then, the boy would finally meet his end either by Sakuya's hand, or the by the little surprise Ikutsuki had brought with him...

Once this was all done, he could finally take it easy again and allow his plans to come to fruition. Perhaps he should ask Sakuya to take care of Strega next? His sole reason for living this long _was_ to tie up any loose ends remaining.

After that? Well, then he could finally rid himself of that troublesome brunette once and for all. He was a useful weapon for certain, but he was also looking for any way out of his current situation as he could.

No one could blame him; it was human nature after all to seek freedom from the will of another. The moment his guard was down, he was certain to try and earn the freedom he had longed for ever since he was old enough to grasp the concept after years of being groomed to do nothing but kill.

Either way, the first thing to do before anything else would be to finally take care of Makoto once and for all. It would be such a shame that the mysterious persona user had finally managed to find and kill him while he was taking a moonlit walk.

"Do you think I'm a fool?" Ikutsuki's eyes widened for a moment before he turned around and saw that the bluenette had sneaked up behind him.

Recovering from the shock quickly, Ikutsuki regained his composure "What do you mean, Makoto?"

"Exactly what I said..." Makoto took a step forward, his blue-grey eyes seemingly shinning in the darkness. "... And by the way, the name's Minato Arisato. Let that be something you take to the grave."

Ikutsuki let out a nervous laugh as he took a step back after hearing that sentence "I-I see you like black comedy!" he tried to laugh the situation off "N-Not my first choice, but I can see the appeal to-"

"I see you like lying even in the face of death itself." Makoto cut the old man off "I mean, I can't say I blame you. For a while, you even had me in the dark about your biggest secret."

"M-My..." Ikutsuki gulped at the implications that Makoto was beginning to suggest. There was no way he could've found out about _that_ is there?

"Do you feel that?" Makoto asked, his lips beginning to curl into a twisted smile as he imagined everything he was going to do to him. "Your heart is pounding, your skin is beginning to feel cold, and you're beginning to find it harder and harder to control your breathing."

"Makoto, what in the world are you..?" What was going on in this boy's mind? It was no secret to anyone with a brain that there was _something_ wrong with him, but now he seemed to go from unstable to a complete lunatic.

"I told you, my name is Minato Arisato. I didn't adopt the name Makoto Yuki until many years after." Makoto explained, his dimly lit blue eyes now beginning to glow slightly brighter as the Dark Hour began to get closer and closer to manifestation.

"After what, you ask? After you and your fellow scientists took everything I had away from me." Makoto said giving a piercing glare that felt as if it was going straight through Ikutsuki's soul.

The second his sentence was over, the Dark Hour began to manifest as ichor began to seep from the walls and the moon along with the rest of the world began to gain a greenish tint.

"S-Sakuya!" Ikutsuki called out to his puppet that had been waiting on the roof.

"Hrrah!" Could be heard from above as Sakuya came down from above with his blades pointed downwards similar to what he had done the very day he and Makoto first met.

 _Not that easy._ Both Minato and Makoto thought simultaneously as they countered the attack with a Garu spell.

With the wind itself attacking the boy who was still in the air, Sakuya instead crashed straight into a wall.

"You think he's going to-"Makoto looked back and saw that Ikutsuki had taken off running "… Son of a bitch."

Makoto quickly ran out of the alleyway just in time to see Ikutsuki running down the street, doing whatever it took to escape the bluenette's wrath. Unfortunately for him, neither Makoto nor Minato was going to let him get away that easily.

"No, you fucking don't, you bastard," Makoto whispered as black flames appeared right in front of Ikutsuki to cut off his escape.

Immediately after that, Makoto summoned a sword in his hand and twirled around to intercept an attack from Sakuya.

Not having enough time to brace himself, Makoto was forced to take a few steps back as the brunette dashed forward and began to unleash an onslaught of attacks, all of which was parried but also knocked Makoto further and further off balance.

"Kougaon!" Makoto shouted before Sakuya's last blow that would've certainly knocked him down could connect.

From above, two bright and yellow arrow-like shapes began to form before seemingly being launched at their target.

The moment the arrow landed, Sakuya was the one who was launched backward. It was fitting in a way; Darkness was repelled by a light-based attack.

With Sakuya out of the picture, Makoto rushed towards the old man before he could devise a means of escape again. No, this was where he was going to die no matter what sort of hell Makoto was going to have to go through to achieve it.

Before he could reach him, however, Makoto was suddenly face-to-face with Scotus who had just been summoned by his master. To make matters worse, the fires that Makoto had cast were now beginning to die down.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Makoto cursed as the frustration both of his selves were feeling began to grow. If there was one thing he had to admit, it was that Ikutsuki certainly wasn't going to go down without some sort of fight… even if he wasn't the one fighting.

In response to the god of darkness' appearance, Thanatos appeared immediately and struck the god down. Odd, Sakuya usually put up much more of a fight than that.

With Scotus out of the picture, Thanatos extended one of his many chains to grab a hold of the fleeing Ikutsuki's leg to pull him towards the bluenette. No matter how hard he tried, he was _not_ going to leave here unless it was in a body bag.

Makoto began to walk towards him again, letting the fear of his approaching death truly sink in. It didn't matter to him much how much time he was wasting; at worst, the Dark Hour ends and Makoto will still be able to sink Thanatos on him. Either way, he was going to get what he wanted and that was Ikutsuki's death.

As he was walking towards him, Makoto felt his foot hit something.

"Hmm..?" Makoto looked down and saw that a certain something had fallen from Ikutsuki's pocket as he was trying to getaway.

"Hey, Sakuya..!" Makoto called out to the boy who had recovered from the attack and was now standing right behind him. He truly must've been a veteran persona user if he was able to take a direct blow from his persona's weakness and not at the very least pass out.

"… Catch!" Makoto tossed the object to the brunette who then inspected the device to see what it was.

It was the remote to the very thing that kept Sakuya under control; the strings that allowed the puppet master to control the puppet. Now it made sense why this fight was so easy despite Makoto being far from his full power; Just like Makoto had theorized before, Sakuya was waiting for the chance to gain his freedom.

Upon seeing what it was, Sakuya dropped the remote onto the ground before stabbing his sword into it, destroying the device and any control Ikutsuki may have had over him.

With his strings cut, Sakuya smiled to himself as he turned around and began to walk away "Have fun, Ikutsuki!"

"Dammit, you… You insolent little brat!" Ikutsuki condemned the young boy who had abandoned him just like he was ready to abandon him the second his use was over.

Sakuya paused for a moment and turned around just for a moment to throw a small knife straight into Ikutsuki's left shoulder which caused him to scream in pain. "Give him a few for me, would ya?"

"Oh, I plan on it…" Makoto agreed as he turned back to Ikutsuki while the brunette began to walk away again. Now, there weren't going to be _any_ interruptions between him and Ikutsuki.

"Lost your puppet, eh, Ikutsuki?" Makoto teased the old man as he began to make his way towards him again. "Tell me, what's it like to completely lose control of someone who was in your pocket just a few seconds ago? Is vexing? Is it soul-crushing?"

Having finally made his way to the old man who was still on the ground after being pulled by Thanatos, Makoto grabbed Ikutsuki by the throat and used his unnatural strength to lift him off his feet.

Makoto chuckled at the sight of Ikutsuki struggling to break free, still trying to cling to his life after having destroyed so many others.

Makoto pushed the vermin into a wall of a nearby building and began to slowly push the knife that was still lodged into his shoulder even deeper which caused him to scream again.

"Feel that pain, Ikutsuki?" Makoto whispered, his voice sounding as cold as the air of the coldest of winters. "It's nothing compared to what I'm about to-"

**SMACK!**

Makoto grunted as he felt some slapped onto his face which caused him to take a few steps and try to understand what the hell just happened.

"What the..?" Wait a moment; his voice was muffled now too for some reason. Makoto reached up and felt something odd. It wasn't the normal sensation of flesh on flesh that normally came on his face; rather he felt something cold and…

Oh no…

This wasn't his face… No, this was a mask… One of _those_ masks!

He could feel it, there was something else forcing its way into his mind trying to taking over.

Makoto took a few more steps back as he tried pulling the mask off, but then he felt the pain of the mask gripping onto his face to prevent it from falling off.

 _ **Hehe…**_ He could hear something that wasn't anywhere close to human chuckling from inside his head as it tried to worm its way in further and further into every imaginable crevice in his brain.

Minato could be heard screaming in resistance as Makoto tried desperately to claw the thing off until…

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"GAAAAAAH!" Makoto screamed in agony and blood splattered everywhere as he summoned all of his strength to rip the mask off of him along with most of the flesh on his face.

"G-Grgh… Argh… Fucking hell… Argh…" Makoto grunted and cursed as large droplets of blood continued to drop onto the mask that had been on his face just a few moments ago.

The mask didn't have any features meaning it was a complete blank. No, this was one of the masks mentioned before… It's The Faceless mask. It was kind of fitting that was the name seeing how Makoto had to tear his face off just to get it.

This was a cursed mask. Now that he was holding it, Makoto could _feel_ the essence of whatever god it belonged to inside it. Whatever god it was, it was certainly powerful that much was certain.

Dropping the mask onto the ground, Makoto crushed it into pieces beneath his boot. Despite being made by a god, it didn't take much to destroy it, at least not with the amount of power that Makoto had.

With the mask destroyed, Makoto continued to pant heavily as droplets of blood continued to fall from whatever was left of his face.

"Hehe, would you look at that?" Makoto asked in a raspy voice as he tilted his head upwards slightly. His eyes were now glowing a dim blue with bright yellow forming at the edges of his irises and the remnants of his face were either covered by his large fringe or concealed in the darkness caused by the Dark Hour's dim lighting.

"Look what I've caught." Makoto said in an almost inhumanely gravelly voice as his head tilted downwards causing his face to be shrouded in darkness except for two now completely bright yellow glowing eyes and began walking towards the old man with outstretched arms "I've caught you, Shuji Ikutsuki..."

As the boy walked forward towards the false prince, many things entered his mind all at once, almost to the point of overlapping one another.

_For her?_

_For them?_

_For Us?_

_For vengeance?_

_For her?_

_For them?_

_For Kotone?_

_For Minako?_

_For Mother?_

_For Father?_

_For us?_

_For her?_

_For them?_

_For_ _**her!** _

_To hell…_

_He goes…_

_To rot…_

_And burn…_

Makoto grabbed Ikutsuki by the throat with his right hand and the knife Sakuya had thrown with his left.

" _ **That**_ hurt…" Makoto said as he pushed the knife deeper into the man's shoulder causing him to scream in pain until he felt the knife hit the wall on the other side.

Makoto's grip on Ikutsuki's throat tightens more before he forced the man down causing the knife to completely rip through his shoulder.

"But don't worry…" Makoto said still holding onto Sakuya's knife as he watched Ikutsuki try to crawl away. "… I'll make sure you know true pain by the end of this."

"What… What are you?!" Ikutsuki asked as he reached into his coat and drew out a gun.

"What you wish you were." Makoto answered as he stared at the weapon "Really, you think that will help you?"

Without saying a word, Ikutsuki pulled the trigger and fired off three shots at Makoto who simply stood still.

One bullet hit his left eye, another hit his right lung, and the last one completely missed its target.

Makoto chuckled as the two bullets that hit him were forced out of him and fell to the ground "You think you're some prince, is that right?"

"What are you talking about?!" Ikutsuki asked as he tried crawling away after throwing the gun at Makoto, but like the bullets before it, it did no damage.

"You think you're the prince that will become king of the new world, right?" Makoto asked the one question that could make Ikutsuki freeze in place.

"Y-You… You know about..?" Ikutsuki couldn't finish the sentence. There was no way a child like him could know about _that!_

"Of course I know about The Fall, you piece of shit." Makoto let out another one of his biggest secrets as he placed his foot against Ikutsuki's throat. "Alright, so maybe I'm missing a few details on _how_ it all goes down, but I get the idea. And you know what? You shouldn't worry, because Death's already chosen his prince…"

Thanatos reappeared behind Makoto and simply stood still as he looked down at the old man who was one of the ones responsible for his creation.

Ikutsuki's eyes widened as he looked at the god in front of him while Makoto increased the pressure against his throat "Ten years ago, that rust bucket forced him into my guts after he killed my family." He continued the list of countless secrets "Since then, I've kept him safe just as he's kept me safe… And _I'm_ the one he chose because of it."

Makoto removed his foot from Ikutsuki's throat instead of choosing to crouch down and looked the old man in the eye. "Why am I telling you? Because that day I learned something, you want to _truly_ kill someone you don't just kill them immediately. No, to kill someone… You take away their reason for living."

Makoto took the knife that Sakuya had just a few moments ago lodged into Ikutsuki's shoulder and raised it to his still ruined face "You know, I _could_ just heal from this, but you know what? Seeing how you wore the face of a prince…" Makoto placed his other hand on Ikutsuki's throat to keep him from moving "… Well, remember what I said I'd do if you failed me again?"

Ikutsuki's screams echoed throughout the streets as they filled the silence that was brought about by the Dark Hour. More and more blood spilled until Makoto held up his bloodied prize.

After the deed was done, Makoto donned the outfit that was normally used for disguise purposes as he continued to hold up Ikutsuki's bloodied face that had been separated from the rest of his body.

With Makoto's threat being fulfilled, Thanatos began to act as he used his chains to surround Ikutsuki who was still clinging to life before tearing the rest of his flesh and clothing off as if it were nothing but tissue paper.

As Ikutsuki screamed in agony, Thanatos' chains grabbed him by his legs before they hung him upside down on the nearest lamppost and left him to slowly die a brutal and agonizing death.

Makoto continued gazing into his bloodied prize. His brain seemed to completely go to autopilot as he held Ikutsuki's face with one hand before a dark mist completely enveloped it.

After a few seconds, Ikutsuki's face was gone. In its place was a white mask with soulless black eyes and a smirk that seemed to go from ear to ear. Just like Ikutsuki and the others had theorized, there was indeed a Prince's Mask.

Makoto put his prize on his face and despite his hood causing darkness that concealed all of his facial features, the mask could still be seen as clear as day.

This was supposed to be the moment that you were supposed to have an epiphany, right? Suddenly, you're supposed to realize what a monster you are and how this isn't what you want at all.

But no, that wasn't the case at all. Makoto's heart was pounding in excitement! A complete euphoria could be felt throughout his entire body and felt as if he'd achieved a lifelong dream.

"Hehe… Haha ha!" Makoto couldn't help it. The streets that were once filled with Ikutsuki's pained screams were now filled with the Dark Prince's laughter.

"Haha! HAHA! **HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**!" And to think, this would only be a taste of what to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those confused by that mask scene where Makoto... fucks up his mug, it was because I knew I had a lot of mutual readers from P3: Bloodlust. There was an incident with a mask at one point, so I took to trolling the fuck outta them. It... was... glorious.


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comest the angstiest thing I've written... at least in a while.

_**Streets** _

" **Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"** Makoto's laughter finally began to die down as did his high from the murder he had just committed. With his mind becoming clear again, he could think about the situation at hand once more.

Now that Ikutsuki was gone and thus so were any issues Sakuya could've caused, it was time that he diverted his attention to the remaining members of Strega.

With Takaya and Jin being completely unpredictable, the way he was going to learn anything about them was with Chidori. After the full moon and a bit of tracking on Makoto's part, he was able to learn that she was being held somewhere in the hospital.

Speaking of which, SEES was also going to notice the little stunt that he had just pulled. It was then that a thought occurred to him.

SEES, of course, did not like the boy. This was no surprise to anyone with a brain, but they were also very naïve and could at least trust him enough that they'd believe what he said if something important came up.

"Hmm…" Makoto hummed to himself as he looked around the area and discarded his disguise for his regular clothes.

His normal outfit was still covered in blood meaning that his job was about to be made even easier.

Makoto channeled some of an Agi's fire into Sakuya's knife and pressed it against his right arm. His eyes shot wide open as the fabric burned away and his skin seared.

"G-Gah… A-Ah…" Makoto dropped the knife and continued taking quick, pained breaths. With that done, he turned to Thanatos who was still standing tall.

Makoto took one more deep breath "This one's gonna suck." He muttered as he mentally braced himself for what was about to happen.

Following his master's orders, Thanatos struck Makoto's torso with enough force to knock the wind out of him and launch him a few feet away.

When Makoto's back hit the ground, he was left wheezing as he could almost feel his ribs crackling inside him.

"T-Think… Think you put a little… Too much into… that one, pal…" He slowly breathed as he tried to get back on his feet with the aid of a car that was next to him.

 _Time for part two of my plan…_ Makoto thought to himself as he began to move as quickly as he could with his self-inflicted injuries.

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With his arms covering his chest and broken ribs, and one hand covering his burned flesh, Makoto launched himself into the doors in front of him and consequently fell to the floor from the momentum as soon as they opened.

Rolling onto his back, Makoto closed his eyes and panted as the sound of barking and several footsteps drawing closer and closer.

"Yuki?" Mitsuru's voice could be heard as the footsteps belonging to her and likely the rest of the team drew even closer in what sounded like a full-blown sprint.

Makoto opened his eyes and leaned himself against the closest wall and had to fight the urge to smile to himself as he saw everyone's shocked faces.

"Nice to see you too…" He breathed out before coughing. Now, he needed to make sure they'd buy his little lie.

"Makoto-kun! What happened?!" Fuuka was the first to ask as she covered her mouth. Despite playing a support role in many battles, she had never seen anyone get critically injured before.

Kotone – who was sitting now sitting next to the injured boy – also gasped as she looked at the boy's state up close "God, you're covered in blood!"

Despite his best efforts, Makoto couldn't help but chuckle at that "I know, I can kinda feel that."

Mitsuru turned towards Yukari "Takeba, we still have a few minutes before the Dark Hour ends. Get your Evoker and start healing as quickly as you can!"

Yukari nodded "I'm on it!" she agreed as she quickly dashed up the stairs to fetch her Evoker.

"Relax guys. It's just a few broken bones…" Makoto assured them, trying to act as he could simply shrug off any of the damage that'd been inflicted on him.

"Quit playing tough, dammit!" Kotone screamed in his ear which damn-near deafened him.

Makoto rubbed his ear as Mitsuru took a step closer "Yuki, what exactly happened?!"

"Wanna know so badly? Fine..!" Makoto frowned as he looked up into the Empress' eyes "Your chairman's fucking dead!"

Everyone — even someone as cold as Mitsuru — gasped in shock upon the delivery of Ikutsuki's 'unfortunate' demise.

It was almost hilarious to see all the horror on their faces. In actuality, they should be on their knees thanking him for what he had just done.

The old bastard was just waiting for the right opportunity to play turncoat and kill all of them. Now they were going to go off fighting in _his_ name... Bloody fools.

"Don't know exactly what went down..." Makoto lied, his voice was now sounding a bit clearer that Yukari had finally come down and spamming whatever healing spells she had on her. "... All I know is that either that mister hoodie or that scar-faced bastard did." he continued to lie.

He was tempted to say 'Strega' and Sakuya, but Strega's MO wasn't nearly brutal enough to lie about them, especially when an accomplice of theirs like Shinjiro was around. And while mentioning his hooded disguise might sound counter-intuitive, it was better if they believed that the two of them were in the same place at the same time for once, even if it was in word only.

"Sure it was one of them? A-Are you... Are you sure it was him?" Akihiko asked, sounding as if he was still trying to wrap his head around everything. Ikutsuki, the man who had been with SEES since the very beginning, was now dead...

Makoto let out a soft grunt in frustration mixed in with the pain he felt every time he breathed as he glared at Akihiko "No, I only ran here because I was hoping I could ask what protein mix you use. What the hell do you think?!"

"Holy shit..." Junpei took a few steps back before sitting down in the nearest chair. He knew that fighting shadows was a life or death job, but to not only have someone die but die to other _people_ was just... It was almost completely unbelievable to him.

"What about you?" Shinjiro asked as he narrowed his eyes slightly in suspicion "How'd you get away? Actually, how'd you even get so fucked up?"

"Tried killing the bastard who tried killing me while those two were trying to kill each other," Makoto lied yet again "Clearly it didn't go so well."

"We... We can hold off on the question for now." Mitsuru said, trying desperately to regain herself after the news of her oldest ally's death "I'll arrange for a trip to the hospital when the Dark Hour ends."

Makoto rolled his eyes, but deep inside he smiled to himself. This was going even _better_ than what he had originally planned "Whatev-Ah!" he screamed as he felt one of his broken go where it wasn't supposed to. It was official, Thanatoshit him too hard.

* * *

_**Hospital** _

To make Makoto's good luck streak even better, he was now stuck _sharing_ a room with Chidori since most of the rooms were already being filled with victims of Apathy Syndrome. Every time an Arcana shadow was destroyed, the number of victims plummeted but quickly returned with a vengeance.

Chidori was doing nothing but writing in her sketchbook as usual as she lied on her hospital bed. According to everyone else, she pretty much never said a word to anyone except Junpei—for whatever reason.

And right now, Makoto and Chidori were alone in the room together while the member of SEES was off attending school. Never in his life did he think that he'd be _thankful_ for something relating to the school.

"So, Ikutsuki is dead now..." Makoto tried starting up a conversation with her, knowing full well that she wasn't the talkative type. If nothing else would get anything out of her, surely mentioning the man that made her into what she was would do something.

And something it did—Chidori immediately stopped moving her pencil as she looked like she was currently letting that information sink in.

"You know who Ikutsuki is, right?" Makoto asked as he turned his body towards her direction. If he was right, the 'unknown' handler behind Strega's project was Ikutsuki. If that was the case, maybe that will help him out?

"Why would you do that?" She asked bluntly, not even taking a moment to consider that any other than him had been the one to kill Ikutsuki.

Makoto's lips curled slightly as he got out of bed and pulled up a seat next to the gothic girl "Alright, we'll trade stories then. I take it you won't say anything?"

Without saying a word, Chidori gave a small, quick nod in agreement as Makoto sighed softly.

"Alright— Once upon a time, I had a family. We weren't all that special, but we all loved each other and blah, blah, you know how it goes..." Makoto explained as his mind began to wander back to the day he'll never forget "Then on my seventh birthday, we decided to party which lasted a lot longer than expected. It wasn't until almost midnight we finally decided to home. I'm never going to forget just how exhausted I was during the ride..."

"But then, the moment the clock struck twelve the first-ever Dark Hour began to manifest..." It was all coming back to him now...

"My parents became coffins naturally, but I didn't. I thought I was having some sort of nightmare until I heard the sound of rattling chains..." And that cold, cold air that frosted the windows...

The sounds of gunfire that hurt his ears...

_"Activating Orgia mode!"_

The smell of smoke coming from a nearby fire...

The heat from the fire contrasting with the cold...

And the indescribable pain of being the one to watch it all happen...

_"Minato!"_

Makoto shook his head as to avoid trapping his mind in the memories of a dead man "Long story short, I was the only one that got out of there alive." he explained as the feeling of pure hatred began to return to him "Since he was one of the scientists responsible for the Dark Hour, me and my friend exacted our revenge on him."

"Friend?" Chidori asked. Makoto said nothing but looked at the boy sitting next to him as Chidori began to feel as if a feeling of a cold and dark emptiness was in the room with her—That was more than enough for her to understand.

"He's about the only good thing Ikutsuki and this fucking hour has given me." Makoto concluded as he looked at Chidori expectingly "What about you?"

"He gave me my friend, too..." Chidori looked down into her sketchbook seemingly saddened "... Medea."

Medea? Didn't she say that name on the roof earlier? Was that her persona's name?

"Hmm..." Now that she was thinking about her persona, she looked... lost. Almost as if that was the only friend she truly has. Looks like Makoto wasn't alone in that regard.

Makoto slowly breathed in before looking down "Takaya and Jin aren't your friends are they?"

"..." Chidori paused for a moment as if she was thinking about her relationship with the other Strega members "... What else am I supposed to do?"

"Huh?"

"You're trying to ask what I'm doing with them..." She says matter-of-factly as she turned her head towards him "... What else was I supposed to do? There's nothing for me out there."

"Oh..." Makoto let out another long, soft sigh as he slumped his shoulders "... Can't exactly blame you there."

Chidori looked around the room again before looking down at her drawing again "I hate this place..."

"Again, can't blame you there."

"It's not so bad though..." She said, sounding almost uncharacteristically optimistic "At least, not when Junpei comes to visit."

"When Junpei comes to—" Makoto rapidly blinked in surprise as he took a moment to process that information.

All of Chidori's interactions with Junpei that he'd caught her doing from time to time.

She wasn't trying to lure him in a trap, trick him, use him, or do anything with him.

No, she was actually _into_ Junpei!

"Huh... Huh..." If there was anything that could leave him speechless, then it was this. So Junpei had a thing for goth chicks and... How the hell did _this_ happen?!

"How—" Makoto was about to question how this came to be, but then a thought occurred to him. Even if it was Minato, technically he _was_ a step away from spending a _long time_ with Kotone who was essentially a child at times while he planned on eliminating Mitsuru and her teammates "... On second thought, I'm not going to judge there."

"You want to know where they are, don't you?" Chidori asked rhetorically as she finally began to draw again "I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to. Takaya likes to change where our hideout is frequently. You're far better off just waiting somewhere until they come to you."

"Speaking of which, why haven't they done that?" Makoto asked, "I mean, I still remember Jin's grenade going off next to me."

Chidori paused for a moment before she starting drawing again "Takaya made a deal with that other boy, the one with the scar."

"Say what now?" Makoto asked as he remembered how he just let Sakuya go last night. Dammit, what was he thinking?! He should've just taken that remote for himself and use that puppet how he sees fit!

"He said that you and the hooded boy were the only ones that'd ever been able to fight him and survive, so he wanted to be the one to kill you himself..." She explained as she continued drawing, speaking as if this were nothing more than a casual conversation "... Takaya agreed to his terms. Said that he would be waiting for their next meeting as if he _knew_ it'd happen. It probably will, knowing him."

 _FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!_ Makoto swore mentally as his error went on replay in his head. He was so wrapped up in killing Ikutsuki that he hadn't even thought for a moment that... And Sakuya knew that he and the hooded boy were the same people too! If Strega finds out and blabs to SEES...

"Dammit, dammit! Fucking fuck, fuck, fuck!" He continued swearing under his breath. He wanted to leave this room right now and find and kill that brunette before he could do anything!

But at the same time, he had nothing to go on.

He knew nothing of where he slept, where he likes to be, where he went, or **_anything!_** And if Takaya likes to switch up where his hideout was, then trying to finding them was going to be a waste of time.

All he could do now was sit and contemplate his error. Who knows what that boy was doing now?

* * *

**_Meanwhile_ **

"Uh... Like this?" Sakuya thought out loud as he pressed the button in front of him... But nothing happened.

"W-What the hell?!" Sakuya shouted as he pressed the button again and again, but still, nothing happened!

This was a vending machine, right? Aren't they supposed to give out drinks after you press the button! What the hell was he missing?! Was it broken?!

Sakuya's light blue eye changed to a dark grey and he grunted loudly in response to his anger and instead of simply pressing the button, he then began to repeatedly punch, kick, and shake the machine with all of his strength.

"Work you piece of shit!" He screamed as he gave the thing one more solid kick, but not a single thing came of it other than a hurting foot.

Giving up, Sakuya took a step back and leaned against the wall opposite to the machine as he continued to glare at the machine. And here he was getting his hopes up, but no the thing was fucking useless!

Suddenly, a girl who looked like she was maybe six to eight years old walked up with some yen in her hand.

Sakuya grinned to himself as he imagined the look of trouble that was going to spread come across the kid's―Wait, what was she put into the machine? Weren't you supposed to take something _out?_ What the hell was this?

With the money inserted, the girl pressed the button with the drink she desired and then reached into the slot below and pulled out her bottle of soda.

Sakuya's eyes widened and his jaw dropped as the girl walked away with her drink in hand and a smile on her face. He walked towards the machine and pressed the button again, but nothing happened.

Sakuya sighed as he glared at the machine again "Is it because I hit ya? C'mon, I'm sorry!" he apologized to the machine in front of him.

He pressed the button again, but still, nothing happened! What did that girl give it?! What in the hell?!

The brunette took another step backward "... Fuckin' asshole." he muttered before walking away.

* * *

_**Home** _

With nothing left to do there, Makoto left his hospital (much to the doctors' chagrin) and returned to his apartment where he could privately vent his frustrations.

"Fuck!" Makoto yelled as he slammed his fist against the table as hard as he could. Sakuya was god knows where and how he's left wondering what the hell to do next?!

Makoto grabbed and placed a large pot next to his usual chair and performed his habit of cutting deep into his wrist and forearm.

SEES was on edge now after what he did to Ikutsuki, but they were also vulnerable now right? It'd be so easy to just go in there tonight and kill them all...

... But that'd also mean he'd have to kill—

 _DAMMIT!_ Makoto mentally screamed as he dug the knife deeper and cut from his forearm up slicing through his left bicep muscles until his blade was stopped as his blade finally hit his shoulder bone.

The pot was now quickly filling with blood as Makoto sat there motionless as he allowed nothing more than his thoughts to occupy his mind.

Dammit, this was so frustrating for him. What was he supposed to do now?! Every time he thought about it, there was the question of what to do about _her._

What was the right decision to make?! If he does nothing, then he'll have nothing left to live for and the nightmares he has every night will continue until the day he finally dies. And if he does kill SEES, then... He'd had to live with the fact he killed the only person who ever gave a damn about his life and tried so hard for him despite getting nothing in return, the one who he had—

No, he was getting distracted again! But... Was it a distraction? Dammit, it was so confusing for him! What... What was he supposed to do? Why was it so confusing..?

Why couldn't he have just burned with his family all those years ago?

* * *

_**Dorm** _

"Hey, Junpei..!" Kotone greeted her capped friend after a long day at school.

"Oh, hey Ko-tan..." Junpei who had been sitting on the sofa returned the greeting with an unusually soft-spoken voice "How you doin'?"

"Everything alright?" Kotone asked as she sat next to the boy, concerned was prevalent in her voice as she spoke: "You're sounding a little down."

"I'm fine, just..." Junpei let out a long and heavy sigh "... Been one of those days, you know?"

"Well, come one..!" She said as she gently nudged his shoulder "Not saying anything isn't going to help."

"I guess..." Junpei let out another long sigh before sitting up "Where should I start? Mr. Jackass himself left the hospital not too long before school ended, so there's that."

"Of course he did." Kotone facepalmed the moment she heard that. Completely going against what any normal human being would and making the few that worry about his worry about him even more? Yup, that sounded exactly like Makoto for ya.

Junpei looked down and his cap caused his eyes to be concealed by its bill. "I'm just... I'm worried about Chidori a lot."

"Aw, that's sweet... Once you get past the fact she held you hostage." Kotone said playfully, trying to lighten the mood a small bit

"No, I mean she..." Junpei grunted to himself a bit as if he was contemplating something before looking up and saying "You know that Akihiko and Mitsuru-senpai had to remove all the sharp objects from the room? Yeah, they did that because she likes cutting herself."

"Oh, shit..." Kotone whispered in shock as she blinked rapidly "You serious? Damn..."

"Caught her with her arm bleedin' once too." He said as he remembered one of his earlier interactions with Chidori before the full moon "And to think, I probably would've missed the red stain if her dress wasn't all white."

"Bloodstain, huh?" Kotone repeated before a thought occurred to her. Didn't Makoto have a bloodstain on his arm not too long ago? He said that he cut himself while making something which wasn't an unbelievable thing, but...

Now that she thought more about it. During her stay at his apartment, she noticed that he always had a large stack of pans and pots that were put in a pile of things that needed to be washed despite looking as if they were completely rinsed out.

Was she just getting paranoid at this point? After all, did Makotoseem like the type to do that to himself?

Then again, she also watched him claw himself in his sleep. Was it really out of the realm of possibility that he might've done it while awake too?

It's unlikely that he would've considered it a problem given that he healed from almost everything that could be thrown at him unless it came from something extremely powerful. Still, having a habit where you regularly hurt yourself... That's not a good thing to have.

She didn't have any real solid evidence that proved or disproved what she was thinking, but the 'what ifs' kept playing on repeat in her mind. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to check on him right now?

"Hey, Junpei..." Kotone stood up with a somewhat anxious sound in her voice "I uh... Something possible important came to mind, and..."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it..." Junpei sighed as he leaned back "I'll be here if you need me."

Kotone smiled in appreciation "You're the best, Stupei!" She said before taking off

Junpei smiled to himself having just received a compliment from his leader and— Wait did she just..? "Stop calling me that!"

* * *

**_Home_ **

Kotone stood outside Makoto's door as she thought about what to do next. Now that she was here... what was she supposed to do?

If she was right and she knocked, that gives Mr. I-heal-from-everything time to recover and conceal any evidence that proves if she was right or wrong.

If she was wrong and she just barged in... Well, then she was wrong and he'd probably take offense to her thoughts and it might even reverse or damage their link. Her link goes, so does her affinity with the Death Arcana which would make its personas hard to strengthen and that's if she could get them at all.

Not to mention, what the hell is she supposed to say? 'Makoto-kun, please stop cutting yourself'? Or 'Makoto-kun, stop cutting yourself!'? How the heck was she supposed to deal with this?!

 _Ah, to hell with it!_ Kotone thought as she took deep breaths and gently gripped the doorknob. _Hate me or not, I need to know you're alright._ She told herself. He broke her heart once to help her; She was done walking on eggshells if it meant that it was for his well being.

Taking one more deep breath, Kotone barged into the bluenette's room without a knock or any indication that she was coming in. What she saw was something that shocked her to the point she almost could move.

"K-Kotone..?" Sitting there in a chair by the window was Makoto who had taken a knife and sliced through his wrist to his shoulder and the blood from which was being drained into a large pot that'd been set up by him.

Without thinking, the redhead ran to the boy and grabbed the uninjured side of his bleeding "Oh my god! D-Did you..?" She almost couldn't believe it. He wasn't just cutting his wrist, he was cutting himself apart.

"I-It's... It's fine." He breathed out weakly as he looked away. Had this been anyone else, they would've died the moment they ran to him but now... Dammit, why couldn't he control himself?!

"It's not _fine,_ you idiot!" She screamed at him. How could he think _this_ was fine?!

"No harm done. Look..." He continued speaking softly as he gently pulled his left arm.

Kotone looked down and saw that his injury was completely gone now. The only sign of it ever even existing was the blood that still covered almost all of the arm.

Rather than feeling relieved, Kotone only felt more infuriated "Wait for me in your room." She ordered like a mother disciplining their child. Makoto was about to say something but was instantly cut off with "Makoto, for god's sake... Just wait in your room, please."

Makoto wanted to say something, but something else was holding him back. More than that, it felt as if his chest had suddenly become a bottomless pit that killed any will he had to fight.

Without saying a word, Makoto slowly raised himself out of his seat and dragged his feet as he entered his room.

Kotone immediately took the pot and dumped all of its contents out into the kitchen sink. The whole thing was about half-way full, how was he not dead or in shock? Were his persona's abilities just that good?

There was no time to think about that as there was another realization that came from that. If he's bled that much... How long had he just chosen to remain there motionless as the life slowly bled from him? More than that, if he had all these pots and bowls and everything... How often did he do this to himself?

Shaking those terrible thoughts from her head, she searched drawer after drawer until she finally found a washcloth which she proceeded to put under the sink's tap water.

After soaking the piece of cloth, she quickly ran into the boy's room to find that he was now sitting patiently on his bed with his head facing downwards.

Without saying another word, Kotone grabbed Makoto's arm again and began to scrub as much of the blood off of him as she could. Luckily for her, she acted fast enough that most of the blood hadn't had much time to coagulate yet so it was easy enough to wipe away.

"Swear to me..." She demanded, but her demand was too vague which became apparent as she saw the confusion in his eyes "Swear to me that you'll never do this again! Ever!"

Makoto paused for a few moments, unsure if he could give her the response she wanted.

Noticing his hesitance, the redhead grabbed the bluenette by the shoulders and looked at him as her teary, shocked, and even downright terrified eyes met with his despondent and ashamed ones "Makoto, please!"

Hearing her plead like this... It only further killed whatever will Makoto had to resist. Without saying anything, he silently nodded.

"I... I just don't..." A few tears fell down her cheeks as she tried desperately to figure out why he would do this to himself "Why would you do this? Why?!"

Makoto looked down again as his will stronger than it'd been in years just last night continued to plummet.

 _Answer her, Makoto._ Minato whispered in his ear, his voice now sounding very soft and gentle as if he was trying to help an old friend. _Come on, you know you want to._

"It's... the only means I have." Makoto continued to speak softly, whatever drive he had to manipulate her and trick her like he'd done last night was all but none existent at this point.

Kotone said nothing, but the look she gave him told him that he was listening "Every day... Every day I just... I need something to remind me. Something to tell me that I'm still alive and this isn't some fucked up version of hell. And when I'm confused or frustrated, my thoughts always seem to just drift away as the life I'd taken a crate-full of narcotics." he explained his reasons for his dangerous habit "Without it I'm... I'm not anything and all of the few things I feel just build and build until I explode."

"God, you're such an idiot!" She screamed as she did the action that felt the most right to her which was to wrap her arms around him as tears began to fall as if an entire floodgate had been opened "H-How can you say all that?! You're not _nothing!_ At least, you're something to me! Y-You're my friend and..." His arms began to hold onto him even tighter "... I-If that's not enough, then think of Minako!"

Makoto's eyes instantly widened as he heard the name of his other half that would never see the light of day again "You said she was your sister right? God, don't you think she'd want his brother to be happy? She'd never want you to ever do this to yourself!" What she said was true, very true. But at the same time, that was useless to him... He didn't deserve to live, but only he and Pharos knew the reason why the latter of which refused to let the former embrace the fate he craved for.

As Kotone continued to cry out of fear and worry while holding onto him tightly, Makoto let out a weak chuckle "This... This hurts, you know?" he confessed which caused her to stifle her crying as best she could "Every time you touch me... It feels like I'm being set on fire. It hurts... It hurts so much..."

Despite his words, his arms reached up and hugged her back "This is the worst... The worst type of agony. I've been stabbed in the eye and it's hurt less than this." he asked as he rested his head on her shoulder as they continued to hold onto each other "I... hate you, you know? You're the only one who's ever made me felt this way. I keep ignoring what's better for me—Hell, for both of us. It's... It's all so frustrating." he continued.

 _Keep going, Makoto..._ Minato whispered in his other self's head. The only way he could truly help himself was to help his other self, maybe then they wouldn't have to be separate... Maybe then, _he_ can come back to a life where he can finally forgive himself for what he did that day.

Once again, despite his words, Makoto found himself chuckling weakly "I just don't get it..." he expressed even more of his confusion "It hurts... It hurts so much and you drive me insane. So why..?" he asked as his grip unexpectedly tightened more "Why can't I let go? Every moment without you makes it feel like I'm being stabbed, but every moment with you makes me feel like I'm being set on fire instead. Is this hell?"

Not giving her time to answer, Makoto began to slowly move his head "I've tried ending it all before, you know? A few times actually." he shared as he thought back to his earlier years " Not long after my parents died and I found myself face to face with a shadow, I just didn't have any strength in my legs to move. I just let that thing tear me apart over and over, but I kept putting myself together again. When I was ten, I couldn't stand the nightmares anymore and jumped off the roof of my orphanage... healed from that too."

Makoto slowly closed his eyes as the two teenagers held onto each other "I'm scared... I'm scared every time I close my eyes. Every night now it's the same dream over and over again. There's nothing I want more than for them to all go away..." he shared the one thing that he wanted the most in the entire world; The one wish that may forever go unfulfilled

"Is this some sick joke? Is there some god out there putting me through this at one of his whims?" he questioned "Everything... Everything is nothing but hell and pain for me, especially you. I'm so lost between what I want, what I think I need, what I might need, what more harm than good, and more good than harm. Nothing makes sense anymore..." he complained, his voice slowly becoming weaker and weaker

"Sh, sh... You don't need to say anymore." She whispered back to him as he continued to rest his head on her shoulder

"For both our sake..." He whispered, the sound of fear was apparent in his voice and he kept his eyes squeezed shut "... Don't be here when I wake up, not tonight. I won't do anything, I promise."

The way he said made it so that Kotone couldn't do anything other than belief the boy, so she gave a slow nod which the boy was able to feel due to their proximity.

 _Do it..._ Minato whispered, but only he and Makoto knew what that could mean.

"Kotone, do me one more thing... And you don't have to if you don't want to..." He said, his voice was hesitant almost as if part of him was telling him to stop, but the rest of him pushed on "... C-Can you... Call me Minato... Just once, I... I need to hear it."

 _Minato..._ Kotone thought as she compared that to Minako again. If that name was so personal to him and it sounded it so similar... It must've been his real name.

"Alright..." She agreed to the boy's request as she too began to close her eyes "... Minato."

...

...

...

"Nrgh..." Kotone softly grunted as she opened her eyes. Did she fall asleep?

She looked down and saw the sight of a trembling Makoto who looked as if he was suffering the worst nightmare imaginable. Over and over he was forced to relive the same dream every night, it was no wonder he was how he was.

Makoto was rude and could be downright cruel if pushed hard enough, but deep down it was all because he was afraid. He'd lost everything, and now he'd rather have nothing than to have something and risk losing it all again... All of that to avoid the pain he felt.

Minato was the opposite in almost every regard. He was nice and seemed to embrace having relations with others (most notably herself). It was now she couldn't help but wonder, is that because of him being a good person or was it so that he had something to hold onto?

Either way, for the first time, she finally felt that she understood him.

Minato, Makoto, either way, they were the same person if you dug deep enough. Somewhere deep down was a hurting boy name Minato who was desperately craving to love and be loved. Makoto showed off the former in spades, while Minato did the same with the latter. Not matter which side it was, they were both a boy named Minato.

Kotone sighed as she remembered what she had agreed to before both of them lost consciousness. She'd love nothing more than to stay here with him and be the first thing he sees out of his nightmare, but in his state and after what he said it might do more harm than good.

Moving as slowly and quietly as possible, she slowly managed to lay the boy down on the bed and put a blanket over him without waking him up.

Walking on her tiptoes, Kotone walked to his bedroom door before looking back one more time. It was now that she finally understood what her feeling where toward them— No, _him._ But at the same time, she knew that now wasn't the time.

"Take care, Minato-kun..." She whispered before silently closing the door.

Pharos —who had been sitting silently the whole exchange— opened his eyes with a frown on his face. Last straw... This was the last straw for him. He'd been confident that Makoto was able to keep a clear enough mind to know what he was doing, but now she was clouding his head and confusing him.

Minato... That's not a name he'd share with ANYONE. The only reason _he_ even knows is that he knew him even before he discarded that name and he only told Ikutsuki so that he knew who he was before he killed him.

And now, she took away his only means for him to cope with everything. While he wasn't supportive of the hobby, he was willing to accept it as it was one of the few things keeping him together. Now he just needed the right push and he'd be pushed to the brink of insanity in a moment's notice.

He couldn't stay silent anymore... He had to convince Makoto to cut her lose before it was too late. If not... Will he even be Makoto anymore?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, things got complicated here. I accepted that Makoto would never be hated, but I also wrote him in such an (apparently) sympathetic way that having the big arc that the story had been building to would be very, very difficult. So, I compromised... Take a guess where this is going.
> 
> Yeah, as those 2 grow closer to jumping each other's bones, the closer hell comes. So let it come! 
> 
> But seriously, I think I could have handled some of the more delicate aspects of this fic with a lot more care. I mean, with the shit Makoto does/did to himself on a regular base? Yeah, I should have been a lot more careful/tasteful with that. Maybe I'm just overthinking it. Eh, whatever.


	42. Chapter 42

_**Home** _

Makoto groaned as he slowly began to open his eyes. There was not a single muscle he had that wanted to move; it was almost like the energy had been sapped out of his body after last night.

Last night...

It hurt just for him to even think about it. Every moment of her holding onto him made him feel as if someone was holding a fiery torch to his bare skin, yet it had some sort of comforting feel to it that prevented him from breaking out of her tight grip.

The room was completely dead-silent; The only noise that could be heard was the sound of sheets shifting as Makoto got out of bed and stood up before rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Following what he said, Kotone must've left sometime after he fell asleep. Part of him was glad that she did what she was asked, and another part of him was upset that she wasn't the first thing he saw after another terrible nightmare, but none of him knew what to do now.

A soft sigh from the boy finally broke the silence as he continued to think about what happened last night. He was going to have to face her day after day in school, and that was going to be the only thing on her mind every time she sees him.

"Minato..." Makoto looked behind him and saw his old friend looked back at him as he sat on his desk "... We need to talk."

"About what?" Makoto asked as he slowly and groggily got another pair of clothes. Another day of school, another day that he had to slog through until... Hell, what did he even have to look forward to? Sleep?

" _Her..._ " Pharos answered in a stern voice, intentionally dragging out the single word to be sure that Makoto understood just what and who he was talking about.

Makoto paused for a moment and for some reason the hair at the back of his neck stood up, almost as if he had a sixth sense telling him that this conversation wasn't going to go in a way he would like.

"What about her?" Makoto asked as he turned towards the boy, unsure why Pharos who had been mostly quiet the past few days had decided to start discussing her all of a sudden.

Pharos looked at his friend dead in the eyes, his own possessing a certain coldness that even someone like Makoto felt somewhat uncomfortable being in the center of his gaze "She needs to go."

Makoto felt his heart sink and a feeling of fear began to grip the boy as he processed what he just said "G-Go..?" After everything, he'd told her, everything she accepted and continued to reach out to him, the many times he'd been a less of an ideal person yet she continued... He wanted her to go? "W-Why?"

Pharos exasperatedly sighed as he shook his head "Can you not see?" He whispered though it wasn't clear if he was talking to Makoto or himself. "You're losing sight of our goal, Minato. We've been here for months, but what have you done other than killing Ikutsuki?"

"We've been busy, remember?" Makoto said as he narrowed his eyes, already feeling as if there was tension beginning to build that was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

"No, you've been making excuses." Pharos shot back, unwilling to let Makoto go off on his own anymore. He needed someone to push him back in the right direction to accomplish the goal they have dedicated their lives towards. "The more and more you're with her, the more confused you're becoming, and that's even if it's _you_ in control." he continued "You _have_ to get rid of her."

Silence once again filled the room as the two friends continued to simply gaze at each other.

Despite his child-like body, Pharos was still able to give off a menacing aura that made even Makoto's seem tame in comparison.

Still, Makoto continued to stand his ground as he came to the one conclusion that he had to accept.

"I can't." He replied as he left his room and apartment without another word.

Pharos' ire immediately shot up even higher at his friend's response. He couldn't be angry at him. In the end, it was all _her_ fault that Makoto wasn't thinking straight. He may not have been able to hurt her, but she was going to pay someday.

* * *

_**School** _

"Get rid of her!" Pharos continued to scream into Makoto's ears who had resorted to listening to his earphones on full blast, though that did little to block out the boy's voice.

With every second that passed, Makoto could only hear him screaming in his ear more and more to the point where he thought that he was going to go insane eventually.

Ever since he had gotten to his desk, Makoto had kept his head down and did whatever it took to try and block out the boy's voice. Never in his life would he have thought that he was going to have to try and ignore his best friend of all people, but it was the circumstance he was living with.

After what felt like years, Makoto felt a small tap on his shoulder. He looked up and saw a familiar redheaded girl.

Upon recognizing this, Makoto immediately took off his earphones "Yeah?"

"Uh... You okay?" She asked, the sound of concern as prevalent as it was when she found him last night. "You've been... Well, even by your standards you've been out of it today."

"It's just..." Makoto sighed as he massaged his temples. This was the mother of all headache machines, and it was likely only going to get worse. "... One of those days, I guess."

"Yeah, I get it. Hey, uh..." Kotone gently placed a comforting hand on his, the sensation of which provided feeling tranquility while also bringing him the feeling of having his fleshed burned by a hot iron.

"Can we go somewhere?" She asked, there was a bit of hesitance in her voice. Whatever she wanted, it had her nervous meaning it'd probably be something embarrassing for her too.

 _Go on, Makoto._ Minato whispered, jumping for joy at the chance to spend more time with the girl. Once again, he paid no mind to the constant orders that Pharos had been screaming for the past few hours now.

"I..." Makoto was about to accept, but then he saw Pharos sitting on one of the desk staring at him; the stare was so intense that even Makoto felt as if it pierced straight through his soul "... I... I don't think that's a good idea. At least, not now."

Kotone's nervous expression was now replaced with one of disappointment instead "Oh... Okay." She didn't raise any objections. It only made sense that after something like last night he might not be ready for anything right now.

Minato let out a few complaints, but Makoto ignored them as he put his earphones on and tried to block it all out.

...

...

For the next few days, Makoto found himself in a similar scenario as the first day since that night. Pharos had done little to let up his verbal assault on his ears while Minato continued to do the same with the opposite goal in mind.

Makoto's brain felt like it was going to going to explode from the constant screaming from the two sides. One wanted Kotone not just something important to his life but wanted her to be an actual part of it as well. The other was ordering for her complete removal as if she was a tumor needing to be cut out.

 _Say something to her, dammit!_ Minato demanded, tempted to just try and completely take control but Pharos acting as a sort of anchor for Makoto like Kotone had done with him was making it difficult.

"Get rid of her!" Pharos continued to scream the same order into Makoto's ear over and over again.

Feeling as if his brain was beginning to suffer from extreme intracranial pressure, Makoto slowly got out of his seat and walked to the bathroom and promptly checked to see if he was alone.

Makoto walked to the sink and washed his face hoping that it'd help him feel at least a little bit better. Unfortunately for him, Pharos wasn't going to back down.

"You need to cut her loose!" Pharos screamed again which sounded as if it echoed in the boy's ears which caused him extreme pain.

"BE QUIET!" Makoto screamed as he flared a bright blue in response to his emotional state.

Pharos was taken aback at the sudden outburst as the boy stomped his feet past him. That was the first time Makoto had ever yelled or even talked back to him.

"I didn't want to do this..." Pharos sighed as he prepared to do something he'd never thought he'd ever had to do.

Makoto was about to leave the bathroom, but his legs went completely stiff as the world around him began to shift.

"N-No..." Makoto whispered as he took a step back as the images began to flood back into his brain.

The boy covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut as he was greeted by an all too familiar image.

 _"Minato!"_ Her voice... That horrible, horrible voice calling out to him.

"S-Stop it!" Makoto begged as he felt the heat of a fire spreading all around him; a feeling that he knew all too well.

 _"H-Help! Please! Mina-AAAAAAAAHHHHH"_ And those horrible, horrible screams the continued to echo in his brain and would likely do so until the day he died.

When it was all over, Makoto was curled into a ball slowly rocking back and forth in the nearest corner of the bathroom as the memories replayed over and over in his mind. Not even Minato could get a single word out after seeing that alongside his other-self.

Sighing, Pharos walked back to his old friend "This is the pain we suffered because of them." He said, now knowing that Makoto was going to listen to everything he had to say. While he hated that he had to do that, it was an unfortunate necessary evil to guide his friend to the right path "She's leaving you confused; You _have_ to cut her loose."

Makoto lowered his head, and when it was raised someone else glared at the boy "So, this is how you treat you, _friend?!"_ Minato yelled at the boy

Pharos returned the glare at his friend's false-self "I do what I have to if it means he'll be better in the end." He explained his sole motivation for any of his actions "Now, I want him back."

"Pf, like I'm taking orders from you." Minato shot back as he glared piercing bright blue eyes at the boy "Tell me, how's it feel to know that you're the reason behind everything that's happened to him?"

"This is how I'm atoning." Pharos answered simply as he continued to glare at the boy "Now, I believe your hold is about to fade soon."

"I'll save a spot for you in hell, you little brat."

...

...

"Kotone, Can I... talk to you?" Makoto asked, having found the redhead just in time before she could leave school.

"Huh? S-Sure!" She agreed with a quick nod and a smile on her face. If she was being honest, she was feeling a little ignored the past few days he'd been silent and acting a little weird, but it was nice to see him interacting with her again.

The two made their way up the stairs until they found themselves on the school roof which was more or less always deserted which made it the perfect place to discuss things privately. And since it was September, the weather wasn't much of an issue so it was better to get this over with now.

"So, what's up?" Kotone said as she looked at him expectingly. For some reason, Makoto seemed to be doing whatever it took to avoid eye contact which was rather unlike him since he only did that when some particularly unpleasant topic came up.

Makoto felt like his heart was racing. Minato was screaming at him for what he was about to do, but it had to be done. This... This wasn't going to end well if it continued "I... I don't think we should see each other anymore."

"Huh?!" Kotone blinked rapidly as her mouth remained slightly agape from the shock. Did he just..? "W-What's that supposed to mean?"

Makoto sighed, why did she have to make it so much worse? "I mean we shouldn't see each other anymore. We might see each other in the halls and all, but... Whatever you and I have should stop while it still can."

"D-Did... Did I do something?" Kotone asked, doing the one action that Makoto hoped she wouldn't do.

"No, no, no you idiot..." Makoto denied as he slowly shook his head. This was already making Makoto feel as if his guts were being ripped out, did she have to make it this much harder? "... I... I don't feel right around you anymore."

Kotone took a step forward, both confusion and fear were evident in her eyes "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" She demanded.

Makoto looked down at his feet, unable to come up with a response. Every moment he talked to her it felt like thorns were being wrapped around his heart and then pulled to completely eviscerate it.

"Answer me, Minato!" She demanded again, now using the one name that could strike Makoto's very soul.

"Because I can't think whenever I'm around you!" Makoto screamed which instantly silenced anything she was about to say. "Just like I said the other night, every time I'm with you, I... I can never think straight!" he continued, speaking louder than he even realized

"It hurts being with you, but it hurts being away from you... " Makoto balled his hands into a fist as he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, but the lip quickly healed "God, it's so frustrating! You're on my mind so much and... And I just want it all to stop!"

Kotone let out a weak laugh as she took a step towards him with a weak smile on her face "God, you're such an idiot."

Before he could say anything, Kotone rushed over to him and wrapped her arms tightly around him.

The moment he happened, Makoto attempted to break "Get off!" he demanded as he managed to push her off, only to have her rush over and embrace him again. "Let me go!"

"You're the biggest idiot I've ever met, you know that?" Kotone let out another weak laugh as she continued holding onto him with a death grip "I mean, seriously... How can you not know why that's happening?"

Makoto grunted as he tried to push her off again, but to no avail "What the hell are you—" Before he could finish, Kotone had grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down as his lips crashed into hers.

The bluenette's eyes widened for a moment as he felt the sensation of Kotone's lips on his before his brain went into complete autopilot and caused him to close his eyes.

Kotone moved her arms from his chest to his neck as she stood on her toes to make sure the kiss lasted as long it could.

The boy's thinking and body seemed to become two separate entities as his left hand placed itself at the back of her head and his right arm wrapped itself around her waist and drew her closer to him.

Despite it feeling like an eternity, the kiss had only lasted a few seconds before Makoto quickly stepped back as he regained control of his actions again.

Makoto slowly placed his fingers on his lips as he processed what had just taken place while Kotone simply stood there smiling at him.

"So... Should I take it as a yes?" Kotone asked, no doubt referring to the one question she had asked him during their last endeavor to the mall together.

"I-I... Y-You..." Makoto took another step back "I-I... Don't follow me!" he ordered as he quickly left the scene at a speed just barely below running speed.

Despite being left alone again, Kotone still had a smile on her face "Don't worry... I love you, too."

* * *

Makoto arrived home with nothing more than more mixed emotions. That wasn't Minato, that wasn't a foundation, that wasn't Lovers... That was him. Kotone had kissed him, and he kissed her back.

When Kotone arrived back to her dorm, she still felt like she had butterflies in her stomach. Despite that being far from, it felt as if that was her first kiss... It wasn't frenzied or rushed, but was slow and passionate.

Makoto gently hit his head on his wall as part of him regretting running away and the other part of him regretted not trying hard enough to push her away.

Even though it'd been hours now, Kotone couldn't help but continue to smile as she thought about it. She had a long list of things she regretted; this was not going to be one of them.

Suddenly, both of them looked out their windows and at the skies, and despite being miles apart they saw the same thing approaching.

"Huh, it looks like a storm is coming."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know they technically shouldn't have known when that storm was going to happen, but co-author insisted, and I trusted his brain a lot more than I trusted mine.
> 
> Okay, so the next chapter might get weird. I'm contemplating re-writing that chapter here in the present just to make sure what was supposed to happen was done well. Then again, people loved it before, so maybe not. If the writing style appears different, then you know why.
> 
> Oh, yeah, the ship. Here's where it finally started coming together. It only took... forever.


	43. Chapter 43

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I decided I'm partially re-writing this chapter, meaning that what you see here isn't completely the same as what happens in the original version on FF. I'm using that pretty loosely since the overall structure is still the same and the first portion of the chapter might be unchanged (I'm writing these notes before actually writing the chapter *facepalm*).
> 
> In other words, those that have seen this on FF won't be seeing the same thing and the writing quality is going to be different. Actually, guys, 1 little favor: please tell me if modern-me's writing is any better. I'd like to think I've improved a ton, but that's for you guys to judge.
> 
> Warning: I didn't type this is Word. Typos might be more common than usual.

**_School_ **

"I had a feeling," Makoto mused, looking up at the grey clouds forming in the sky. From outside the window, Makoto watched several students running as quickly as they could, desperate to get home before the rain falls. 

The rain was not on his mind, however. That honor belonged to the one whose gaze he felt at his back.

"You shouldn't be here." Why did she have to stay? Why couldn't she just leave him and go? 

"Right back atcha," Kotone responded, remaining by the door as he kept his back to her. The halls were empty with nothing—abandoned—and filled with nothing but the two of them. The building only had as much life as the students and staff that would occupy it daily would provide it, and now it was nothing but a lingering eerie silence. 

Turning his head, Makoto could see her out of the corner of his eyes. "I won't get sick when it rains." If there was one benefit to what he was then that would be it. 

"Wait, really?" Kotone asked stunned. With wide eyes, she began looking him up and down for any sign that he might have been lying, but there was nothing. "Wow, can we switch powers?"

"You don't want that." Returning his attention to the window, he felt a chill running up his spine. Careful to keep his voice low, he whispered, "I know, I know." He knows, so why can't he say it?

"Minato," hearing that old name leave her lips made him want to puke. That's who he was once—who he wished he could be—but it was too late for that. "You know why I'm here, right?" 

She wasn't going to leave. Their last meeting sealed it, tying them to each other. No matter what he said or did, nothing would deter her now. 

But this wasn't the place to do it. It will take too long. If she were to leave now, there was still no telling if she would make it home in time. If she's left in the rain during a long trek like that, then she's almost guaranteed to get sick.

He should leave her. He has every reason to leave her. 

"Don't fall behind."

So why couldn't he?

* * *

**_Home_ **

Way journey to his apartment was spent in perpetual silence. Makoto refused to say a word to her, so she, in turn, kept her silence, following him until they arrived. Makoto's prediction proved to be accurate, as not long after entering the building, rain began pouring from the sky.

There was no going back from this. They were both trapped inside this building together, come what may.

"Looks like we'll be here for a while," Kotone noted, attempting to look out his window only to find the rain obscuring everything beyond recognition. "You don't mind if I take off my shoes, do you?"

Makoto shrugged, giving a dismissive, "whatever."

True to her word, Kotone kicked off her loafers and discarded her blazer before leaving it on a seldom-used coat hangar on the wall. His gaze remained at her back, trying to speak only to find the words dying or becoming a faint whisper barely audible to his ears. 

Turning to face him again, Kotone's gaze met his. "We kissed."

"We did," his response was immediate, yet his voice was lethargic, complemented with his slight slouch. "You shouldn't have done that. Of all the things, never that."

"You kissed me back," she replied, taking a small step towards him. He couldn't deny it; something inside him too over at that moment, but it only served to pain him more.

"Stop," he demanded, wanting to yell only for his demeanor to instantly crumble. It was too much; he's worn this mask for so long—too long.

"Minato," she said his name with a voice so soft that it could only belong to her. He trusted her with his name, something that infuriates him to no end. He wants to be—needs to be—angry, yet hearing her say his name reminds him how close he let her become.

 _"Stop... stop,"_ Makoto could not muster enough strength to say the words. Feeling the air around him beginning to freeze and the whispers in his ear did nothing to change that, only giving him enough resolve to step away from her approaching footsteps until his back hit the wall. 

His fingertips began going numb, calling attention to his breathing that had quickened at some point. Whatever little sensation he felt was instead assaulted by the unrelenting chill in the air. 

_"Please, please, please,"_ Makoto begged his other-self. If there was ever time he needed him, it was now. Makoto was pleading—begging—him to take control again. 

_"You need this,"_ was the only response he would receive. He's been running for so long now, but not here; not if he can help it.

Kotone halted her approaching, watching him cowering before her like a scared child, wearing the same pained look he had at Shirakawa Boulevard. Extending her hand, she saw him instantly flinch, forcing her to retract it halfway so he could settle down.

"It's okay," she whispered to him, reaching out once more and gently grasping his hand.

He seemed ready to pull his hand free for a moment but instead began muttering, "i-I... I... I..."

"I won't hurt you," she assured him, grasping his other hand. The air around her suddenly became frigid, causing her to shiver.

He refused to let her orbs meet his, turning his head away and closing his eyes shut. The whispers in his ear, demanding him to push her away, demanding him to _hurt_ her wouldn't stop. His head felt like it was tearing itself apart and it was all because of you. "I-I... I hate you."

"I know." Kotone took the final step forward, wrapping her arms around him. Makoto immediately tensed, trembling beneath her touch, yet his body welcomed feeling her warmth against him. "If you tell me to go now, I will," she promised, "I don't care about the rain. I just need to know."

The whispers became booming shouts, echoing in his head. The whispers told him that this was it, that he would only need to tell her to go now and it would all be over.

Kotone continued holding onto him, listening to his breathing, his heart pounding inside his chest, and his soft wheezing as his nightmare continued. But when you're trapped in a nightmare, sometimes it's better to let someone wake you up.

"Minato," she called out his name again, resting her head against his chest, "I love you."

"You shouldn't."

"I do."

"It's not right."

"But it's true."

"I hate you," he repeated the only words he could use to describe his feelings. She's brought him so much suffering, so why, why can't he push her away?

"Then tell me to leave." Kotone pulled away, placing a hand against his face and turning his head to face her. "Please."

Makoto couldn't respond with words, only by leaning forward and pressing his forehead against him. He has to say it—he knows that he has to say it. 

The whispers he hears are demanding that he lets her go.

He knows that he should let her go.

He _needs_ to let her go.

And yet, "I can't." 

"And I don't want to go," she confessed, softening her gaze and leaning his closer, her lips brushing against his as she asked one last question, "can I stay?"

His answer came in the form of him raising his arms, wrapping them around her waist and pulling her in closer. Almost as if they were in tandem, she interlocked her fingers behind his head, leaning in and placing her lips on his.

He shouldn't be doing this. The voices keep screaming at him, cursing him for what he is doing. 

But holding her close, feeling her lips against his—he needed this. Kotone felt his grip tighten around her, almost as if he was afraid to let go.

Kotone pulled back slightly, breaking their kiss. "U-Um," she stammered, resting her head against him again, unable to say the next few words to his face, "it's really cold."

"I know," Minato responded without missing a beat. 

Biting her lip, Kotone pulled back again with firey red cheeks, "U-Um, you have blankets, right? I mean, of course, you do—I mean, um..." Kotone fumbled between her words before letting out an exasperated groan, pulling him back into another kiss, throwing her barrettes to the ground as they guiding each other to the bedroom.

When the arrived at the bedroom, Kotone's hands slithered to his shoulders, shrugging off his jacket before they collapsed on the bed with her on top of him. His arms kept her close to him, and she grew bolder, slowly prodding with her tongue as if to see how it feels before sliding it in and exploring to her heart's content. 

Cupping his face with her hands, Kotone position her legs to straddle him before lowering her hands to his shirt. Taking one last moment to enjoy their deep kiss, Kotone pulled away and began working on the buttons, undoing the first and then the next before coming to stop as the realization of what this meant hit her.

"U-Um," she stared him down with cheeks that were almost the same shade as her eyes. "I-I've never—um..."

Makoto's gaze began averting hers as he was left in a similar state, "I... never let anyone get this close." 

"D-Don't stare," she winced, forcing out every word, "w-when I—y-you know..."

"Okay," Makoto agreed, nodding and swallowing the lump in his throat.

Kotone looked back down at his shirt, "so, how do we—am I suppose to...?"

"Well, last time we tried," Makoto felt like he would die at the mention of their last _'adventure,'_ "we—Um, I have no idea what we did."

"I guess it would go faster if we... focused on our own clothes," Kotone statement came out as a weak whimper. 

"Right," the moment Makoto agreed, she rolled off of his him.

 _"I can't believe this,"_ Kotone thought to herself as she began undoing the buttons of her shirt. One by one, she felt his eyes on her as she kept exposing more and more of her skin and the red bra that she was wearing beneath it. She couldn't help but wonder how it had come to this—not long ago, she was here in this room with the same boy on the same bed. 

It was so easy back then! Everything felt so natural, and now, as she shrugged off her shirt, she felt her face burning hot. "C-Can... can you undo the back?" she asked, looking down at her interlacing hands. No words were spoken, but she felt the bed creaking beneath his weight as he came close. Kotone flinched, back tightening when she felt his cold fingers against her spine, fiddling with the clasp.

When she felt the clasp finally separate, she continued holding the cups against her breasts as she turned around to back him again. He was in much the same state as her, minus the _extra_ piece of clothing, of course. His eyes were seemingly dancing across the room, unsure where to look and for how long but always returning to her.

"S-So—um," Kotone swallowed, looking away and lowering her hands to expose herself, "d-d-do you like them?" Did she just say that—why would she say that?

"Oh, uh," Makoto's eyes raced across the room, instinctively looking for—he wasn't even sure what he was looking for. "Y-Yeah," he answered, "I do."

"Okay," she breathed out, finally looking back at him and smiling weakly. 

There was a brief moment of silence as they remained there, observing one another before Makoto pipped up, "So, should I—do you want me too..."

"Um," Kotone's words died in her throat. She had to remind herself that there was nothing to be afraid of; she loved him and that he loved her, even if he won't say it out loud. Slightly tilting her head to the side, she croaked, "how about we take off the rest first?"

"Right," he nodded, biting his lip.

Kotone focused on her attention on the zipper of her skirt with her trembling hands and sweaty palms repeatedly fumbling to catch a grip of the zipper, only to just barely get a grip with her nails, sliding it down to find herself greeted with _another_ zipper. _"Ugh, shorts!"_ she mentally berated herself, _"the one time I DON'T need them..."_

Taking a deep breath, Kotone unzipped the shorts beneath, revealing just a glimpse of the bright red underwear she was wearing beneath them. 

_"This is it,"_ she let out a weak whimper to herself. This was the last part that she was too afraid to do the first time they almost did... _this._ Once this was done, there was no going back. 

Whispering encouragements to herself, Kotone closed her eyes and slid off the skirt, shorts, and underwear all at once. Kicking off whatever piece stuck to her foot (she was too embarrassed to check), she was left completely bare in front of him.

Turning to face him again, Kotone's confidence began melting once more, "I... I don't know what I'm doing."

"Me neither," Makoto spoke candidly, admiring her fair form before quickly looking away again, "y-you're... really pretty."

"Thanks," Kotone smiled weakly. Wait, if he said that, then she was supposed to say something, right? "Um, you're buff."

"Thanks," he had no idea how to respond to that. Once more, they were soon left with an uncomfortable silence that seemed to go on forever.

Kotone's eyes began to lower, seeing that he had done the same as her. "S-Should I," the words came out forced, hesitating with every syllable, "y-you know! Now that we're both—maybe I should get down a-and... and..."

Makoto was left stumbling when he caught the meaning of her words. "I-I-I—we—um, you, I—um," he groaned, taking a few quick breaths before saying, "h-how about we skip that part?"

"Sure," Kotone agreed, not bothering to contain her relief. Maybe that can happen one day, but certainly _not_ today. Of course, that leaves one problem, "so, what do we do?"

Makoto shrugged, looking at sheepishly, "maybe what we were doing... before?"

Kotone nodded, "okay."

Leaning into one another and closing their eyes, they proceeded to do the one action they _knew_ how to do. Falling back onto the bed, Kotone hands continued cupping his face, sliding in her tongue as she felt his arms wrapping around her again.

Makoto's hands began to wonder, trailing his hands down her back, enjoying the sensation of her soft skin. Her body was so warm compared to his and especially compared to the cold air around them. Feeling her body pressing against his, the sensation of her lips, the fact she can say that she loves him without him doubting that she means it—if there were any whispers still being uttered, then they were falling on deaf ears as he thought only of her.

Impetuously, Makoto's hands began sliding down from her back, going past her hips and gripping onto the firm and plump flesh. 

He was quickly reminded of what he had done when Kotone let out a brief squeal into his mouth before breaking the kiss and lifting herself. Being subject to her intense gaze, he couldn't help but flinch, cursing himself for his stupidity. 

Expecting her to either scream at him or knock his lights out, Makoto braced himself. Instead, what caught him off guard was the sound of her giggling. Opening his eyes, he saw her shaking her head and smiling down at him.

"God, you're such an idiot," she purred, leaning in and placing one last kiss on his lips—just a small one as if to let him know that she wasn't angry. Testing this theory, Makoto tightened the grip of his hands slightly, earning a soft moan into his mouth. 

When their kiss ended, Kotone was looming over him beaming through her rosy red cheeks, "so... are you ready?"

Makoto tried to get the words out but failed, distracted by the whispers once more speaking into his ear, cursing him, damning him, accusing him of betrayal—no, now wasn't the time for that. This was something special between the two of them and nothing was going to ruin it. Unable to speak, the boy nodded.

Taking a deep breath, Kotone began to line herself up. She began hesitating for a moment, questioning if this was really what she wanted, but looking up back at him, she saw his bluish-grey eyes staring back at her with a warmness almost entirely unseen in the boy. Regardless of whether or not he'd say it out loud, the warmness was there to affirm her that he loved her just as much as she loved him, and now, it was time they showed it to one another. 

Kotone lowered herself down on his member, filling the air with their mutual gasps. She let out rapid breaths, grabbing onto him just a bit too hard for him to not be concerned, especially upon noticing the grimace on her face.

"Are you okay?" He questioned, needing to put his hands on her hips to bring her to a stop when she tried ignoring his question.

"I-I think," she tried to explain through her pain gasps, "I did it a little too fast." 

The bluenette laughed. "Who's the idiot now?" he asked, raising himself to meet her, placing another kiss on her lips.

"Mm, me," she forfeited the arguement, choosing to instead enjoy feeling his lips on hers before wrapping her arms around him and placing her head at the crook of his neck. The air around her almost stung from the borderline frigid atmosphere but what was distracting her the most was his cool skin, "you're really cold."

"Yeah," he knew that and its reason. Now wasn't the time to go onto it; she was the only thing that mattered tonight. "You're really warm," he returned. With his hands still at her hips, it wasn't hard for them to slide back where they had been and give another squeeze.

Another soft moan left her lips, preceding more abrupt laughter. "Really, again?" she raised an eyebrow, pulling back to see the look on his face as he tried to explain himself. 

Instead, Makoto gave a simple shrug, "if it works, don't change it."

"You're lucky I like being touched," she giggled, whispering in a sultry voice, "but I can think of some _other_ places for you to feel."

Chuckling, Makoto was quick to obey her demands. His hands began sliding upwards, feeling every nook and cranny of her bare skin before she grew impatient and place them directly on her breasts. Flexing his fingers, he heard another moan, this one slightly exaggerated, a teasing moan to entice him further.

Makoto continued, caressing her chest and flicking his thumb over the pink flesh. He saw her biting her lip, perhaps thinking that hearing anything else from her would be too much. All it did, however, was give him a new goal. 

He didn't bother to see her reaction when he brought his head down, only caring for her reaction once he brought his lips against the rosy dug. From there on, music began filling the air as his tongue continuing circling the bud, occasionally sucking on it but remembering her threat about never using his teeth. A wasted opportunity but he wasn't going to push it here.

Her cackling continued when he was moving from one breast to the other. Feeling her hands at the back of his head, he listened to whisper about how good it felt. Knowingly or not, she began to slowly rock her hips, letting him know that any pain she had was long gone and at the back of her mind.

Rising from her chest, Makoto asked, "You enjoyed that, I take it?"

"Shut up." Kotone's answer was to pull him into another kiss before pushing him back onto the bed. It looked like he had done enough now—she was taking over whether he liked it or not.

Placing her hands on his shoulder for support, Kotone began to raise herself. Her movements were a little awkward, not knowing how high to raise herself or how fast, but eventually she was able to find a pace that they both enjoy. Whenever she thought she was doing something wrong, his moans would always be there to reassure her.

The shyness that she had possessed before was long gone. Eyes closed and mouth open, she was not hesitant to voice her pleasure, panting and moaning alongside him.

As they continued, her boldness grew. Where she had once only lifted herself slightly, she was now moving her hips in a rolling motion, grasping one of his hands and making his touch her where she was most sensitive. 

Her hands had moved from his shoulders to the bed sheetings, gripping them tightly as his hands continued to wander her. She felt a tension rising at the pit of her stomach, building, and building, numbing all her other senses.

So caught up she was that she hadn't noticed his hands gripping onto her hips. With a yelp followed by giggling, Kotone felt the back of her head hit a pillow and saw the boy now looming over her, juxtaposing their positions.

With his lips on hers, Makoto began moving, slowly at first, much like how she had been. The hesitance was short-lived, however, as their kiss broke so did his restraint.

Kotone sucked in her breath, grasping at her chest as he quickened his pace. The more she felt him slide in and out, the closer she felt the tension beginning to reach its breaking point. 

Makoto felt her hand snake behind his head, pulling him into the crook of her neck, holding him close and allowing her to whisper in his ear about how good it felt. Hearing her encouragements inspired him to feverishly push himself further. 

Panting, the bluenette felt the end approaching. He drove himself against her faster, harder—as much as her screams were demanding. Feeling her insides tightening around him, edging him closer and closer until they both felt the tension that had been building suddenly burst.

Kotone came with a loud cry as he walls constricted once more, dragging her nails against his back and leaving several trails on his skin. A sudden rush flooded her system, giving the impression that she was briefly floating in space as she felt a warmth begin pooling in. When she came back to her senses, she realized that the boy had collapsed on top of her while they were both left a panting mess, trying to catch their breath.

Unceremoniously, Makoto rolled off of her, taking his own spot on the bed and mimicking her in staring at the ceiling as they both thought about what they had done.

"Wow," Kotone breathed out, "wowie-wowie wow-wow!" she rolled onto her side, facing him. "That felt _good!_ That felt really, really, _really_ good!" 

Makoto blinked, unsure how to respond or even react in general to that. A peculiar reaction to an unfamiliar... 'adventure'.

"Oh, this was _so_ worth the wait! Don't you think—Actually, never mind," she interrupted her own question, placing a hand on the side of his face and leaning down as she ordered him to kiss her. "Mmm," she moaned softly, grabbing the blankets before placing her head against his shoulder and demanding, "hold me."

The stinging from the cold air intensified, yet, it was easy to ignore now. Sleep came easy for them both, as for the first time in their lives, they were able to sleep in the arms of the one they love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I mentioned before, these scenes are not... my forte. I'm not very good at them, so don't ever expect me to write another one. In fact, the only reason it exists is because of a dare (I'm petty).
> 
> I said I'd give trivia on how some chapters were made, so here it is. The original version of the chapter was pretty well received, but upon rereading it, it was just hard for me to get through. I guess as I gained more experience writing, even things that people liked can still irk you. They were both being haunted by Pharos (admittedly still present here but to a MUCH lesser extent) yet still decide to bang. I guess there's some symbolism there if you look for it, but whatever.
> 
> This time, I went for a similar but somewhat different approach. Makoto is the main subject of Pharos'... outburst with Kotone only feeling that the room was really cold. I wanted more focus on Makoto and his dilemma of knowing what he believes he SHOULD do, but still choosing her in the end despite it all. Like the original, it should show just how... broken he is inside, but hopefully at least a little bit stronger than before. 
> 
> Of course, then there was the lemon itself. Well, that was completely changed. Before it was just them making out for a bit before banging until the end of the chapter. Here, I kept in mind that their still teenagers at the end. Unlike back in 34/35, they're not just acting without thinking. They're talking, getting nervous, and generally feel awkward about the whole thing. Then, of course, they get a hand of everything and then no more nightmares, conflicted feelings, etc—just those two having fun and a pissed-off primordial deity getting cucked.
> 
> Also, I had a lot of time to think when I wrote this chapter regarding Makoto. You know, I think I get it. I tried to make Makoto somewhat of a monster with an at least understandable motivation before, but people liked him too much to see him as a monster. And you know what, I think I get it. At the end of the day, Makoto might do terrible things, but at the end of the day, he's still just a boy mourning his long lost family. Not only that, his own friendship with Pharos is rather toxic if you think about it. Ignoring Pharos' sudden possessive streak, he's also been the enabler of Makoto's worst habits (hurting himself, his entire quest for revenge, etc). 
> 
> Poor guy was just a victim of circumstance. I guess it makes it hard to hate him too much, even at his worse. Ooh, that's gonna make the next few chapters really hard to sit through. You know, I think I'm going to take that into consideration when I'm writing the newer chapters. I can't change the parts of the story that are already set in stone, but I can change what it all leads to.


	44. Chapter 44

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because of the changes to the last chapter, I'll just have to remove a certain piece at the start of the chapter, nothing major. 
> 
> In case you forgot, you're back to younger-me's writing now. But hey, you've made it this far, right?
> 
> Update: Fuck up! Fuck up! Fuck up! I accidentally erased something very, very, very important and never replaced it! Fuck!

_**Home** _

Makoto slowly began to open his eyes as he finally awoke from a long, deep sleep. For the first time in months, this side of the boy had finally gone to sleep without any cruel nightmares to haunt him through out the night.

"Hello~." A voice next to him cooed.

Makoto blinked rapidly for a second before turning his head to met two red eyes staring back at him with their owner also having a smiling face.

Kotone giggled as she gazed at the bluenette "Anyone ever tell you that you look cute when your sleeping?"

Makoto shook his head as he tried to get the sleep out of his eyes "Nope, not really."

"Well, you do." She said as she lifted her head up slightly "Lovely night, huh?"

Now, it was Makoto's turn for his cheeks to redden in embarrassment as he thought about everything that happened last night. With everything he did, that meant... "S-So... We um... You and I are... We're um..."

Kotone couldn't help but snicker at the boy's discomposure "Isn't it obvious?" she asked with a beam still on her face " _I'm_ your _girlfriend..."_ she said as she placed her right hand on his cheek "... and _you're_ my _boyfriend."_ she said before leaning in and placing her lips on his which he instinctively returned.

After a few seconds, Kotone pulled back and rested her head again "Huh... So what do we do now?"

 _FUCK!_ Makoto cursed loudly in his head as he felt panic beginning to set in

 _What she talking about?!_ Minato screamed loudly as he began to panic as well _What comes after sex?!_

 _I don't know!_ Makoto answered his other self _All those dating sims that Pharos plays usually go to credits at this point..._

 _Well, she asked us a question!_ Minato screamed as he tried desperately to come up with an answer _Y-You know what? Just say ANYTHING._

_Anything?_

_Anything!_ Minato screamed _Just... Say it like you mean it._

"I... Don't know." Makoto finally answered

 _What the fuck was that!_ Minato screamed loudly

 _What? You said say anything!_ Makoto explained his reasoning

 _You could at least put some effort into it!_ Minato continued to yell before letting out a long metal sigh _You know what? Whatever, we can still work with this._

Kotone's lips curled into an even bigger smile "I'll tell you! We're going to have more kisses, more dates, you... probably spending all of your money on me, more fun in bed later on! All the fun stuff, yanno?" she shouted rather loudly, perhaps a bit louder than intended.

If Minato was in full control, he likely would've rapidly blinked in surprise _Oh god, say yes..._

"Yes, I―um..," Makoto stuttered, "... just take my yes."

Suddenly, a tiny piece of reality decided to slap Makoto across the face as he realized something. He was so wrapped up in the moment that he forgot something...

"U-Uh... K-Kotone... Um..." Makoto stuttered as he tried to find the best way to phrase it, but was struggling to get the words out.

Kotone took a moment to analyze his face before she realized what had him so worried which caused her to erupt into laughter that was only muffled when she slammed her face down into the pillow.

"I'm on the pill, dummy!" Kotone alleviated the boy's concerns "I always carry 'em in my skirt pocket. Did you seriously not know that?" she asked as she continued to laugh "Man, you must _really_ love me, huh?"

"N-No!" Makoto denied before he remembered the entirety of the question, "I mean, yes... I mean... Wait, why the hell are you on the pill?!"

Kotone let out an exasperated sigh "God, you're such an idiot..." she muttered, "It has more uses than just _that_ you know!"

Makoto whimpered as he stared at the ceiling "Fuck me, thanks for the humiliation."

"Uh-uh!" Kotone exclaimed as she turned his head back to her as she frowned "You're frowning! I'm _not_ letting you leave this bed with anything other than joy!"

That was enough to make Makoto snicker again "Right. Anymore decrees?"

"Hmm..." Kotone hummed as she took a second to mull over it "I get a little insecure at times, so be sure to love me lots with hugs and kisses!"

Makoto chuckled "Well then..." Following her orders, he leaned in and began leaving several pecks on her lips before they became full-blown kisses and he climbed on top of her.

Kotone giggled as she placed her head down on the pillow "Again?" she asked while raising an eyebrow "I mean, you just woke up and everything."

"You _did_ say you wouldn't let me leave this bed with anything other than joy..." Makoto retorted as he brushed some of her hair out of her eyes "... Besides, are you really complaining?"

"Hmm..." Kotone placed her hands on his cheeks "... Be sure to make me breakfast before you take me back to the dorm, okay?"

Makoto eyed the alarm clock he'd placed in his room a few weeks ago (with the alarm off, of course) "Can't promise it'll be breakfast, but I'll make you _something_."

Kotone was about to say something in response but was soon cut off with her own giggling when he began to kiss her neck and work his way down.

Minato/Makoto and Kotone spent a long time together.

...

"Mmm," Kotone beamed, wolfing down the pancakes he had made for her. Blue might be rough around the edges, but he can definitely cook.

 _"Blue,"_ Kotone repeated the name mentally. She was going to have to remember that nickname for later. 

Another cold chill filled the air, making even Makoto who was sitting across from her shiver. This is bad—he's never seen Pharos this angry before. 

Kotone dropped her utensils, rubbing her arms to generate some sort of friction. "Why's it so cold in here?" she asked.

"Pharos," Makoto muttered.

"Hmm? Who?"

"He's... it's complicated," Makoto shook his head, "he's never something that never leaves me and—"

Another chill, this one accompanied by tension so thick that he could cut it with a knife. Things are about to turn south very fast. 

"On second thought," Makoto stood up, "I'll explain on the way to your dorm. The storm's died down for now."

"Hmm?" Kotone raised an eyebrow, "but I'm not—"

"Just do it," Makoto said, trying his damndest to not sound desperate. He had to get her out of here now before Pharos loses his patience. Kotone barely had time to grab her barrettes before she was practically pushed out the door.

* * *

_**Dorm** _

"I'm back~!" Kotone announced as she and her new boyfriend walked through the dorm's doors. Luckily, they left during one of the brief intervals when the storm suddenly let up, so they were not completely soaked.

Before anyone in the lounge could say anything, Aigis suddenly bolted down the stairs and stared directly at Kotone "Search sequence complete!" She announced "Analysis... Kotone-san has been kidnapped by Makoto Yuki and is now being held for ransom!" She concluded before taking aim at Makoto.

"Let her go, and I promise to use non-lethal means of incapacitation!" She threatened as everyone else felt a bead of sweat fall.

"Uh... Aigis, I wasn't kidnapped." Kotone explained, "I was about to be caught in the storm so I stayed at his place."

Aigis blinked "Reassessing situation... Kotone-san may be suffering from Stockholm syndrome. More data required..." she said before walking to the others.

"Uh... Hey guys." Junpei greeted, feeling somewhat uncomfortable given Aigis' sudden... outburst "So, what'd you guys do yesterday? I could barely sleep with how loud it was out there."

Kotone was about to answer, but Makoto had first responded with "Me? I was doing your leader."

Everyone's eyes widened as a loud "WHAT?!" Could be heard from the other side of the planet.

Makoto chuckled in morbid amusement "Oh, and this morning too. Especially this morning actually."

Everyone gave Makoto and Kotone shocked expressions which the former took great amusement in until he saw the latter's rosy red cheeks "Oh, was that supposed to be between us?" He asked coyly.

"Situation reevaluated!" Aigis announced as she once again took aim at Makoto "Makoto-san had taken Kotone-san prisoner and repeatedly raped her, thus causing her to become submissive!"

Makoto snickered "Rustbucket, you truly are the _second_ best part of my day." He said, completely unfazed by the fact Aigis could literally unleash automatic fire on him if she wanted to.

"H-He didn't rape me!" Kotone screamed as she stood between the bluenette and the android "I consented and everything! If anything, *I* was the one who seduced _him._ " she admitted something truly embarrassing just to avoid this day devolving into a gunfight.

Aigis glared at Makoto for a moment before putting her weapons down "Reevaluation complete. Analysis... Kotone-chan may be experiencing sexual attachment to dangerous situations and/or people, also known as... A dangerous fetish!"

Before Kotone could say anything, Fuuka who had been sitting with the rest of the shock group began to speak "D-Did you two... um... Did you remember to..."

Knowing what Fuuka was implying, Aigis carry on in a way only Aigis could "I believe Fuuka-san is asking if you were responsible enough to remember to practice safe sex!"

"STOP! TALKING!" Kotone screamed loudly as her entire face was now as red as her face while Makoto was laughing in amusement.

"So... Are you two having a baby now?" Junpei decided to follow up Aigis' statement anyway, taking their reluctance to answer as them saying 'no'.

Kotone began letting out completely incomprehensible grunts and random noises, meanwhile Makoto continued to laugh as if he was having the time of his life.

Makoto took a step forward and glared at the male members of SEES.

Koromaru was tilting his head in confusion but seemed to be interested in whatever the heck was going on.

Junpei looked like he was completely frozen in place as his brain tried to wrap his head around the fact that the infamously rude and callous, Makoto Yuki actually _did_ Kotone, his leader and one of the nicest people he's met in his entire life.

Akihiko was blushing like he'd been forced on stage while cross-dressing as he looked away, unable to look at the new couple— Heck, he could barely even comprehend the fact that they _were_ a couple.

Shinjiro was actually choking on his water from when the shock had first hit him. He had been worried that Kotone was getting to close to him, but now she was going out with _him?_

"Here's all you guys need to know." Makoto said as he continued eyeing all the males in particular "She's taken now... Any of you try anything, and I will show you a whole new meaning to pain." He threatened as he narrowed his eyes "Believe me, having your _pillar_ cut will be the very least of your concerns when I'm done with you. Did I mention that I might burn it with candle wax first?"

Makoto then turned his attention towards the female members of SEES (even including Aigis) as all the males look at each other in slight terror, unsure whether or not to take his threat seriously.

Mitsuru was also a blushing mess, but also seemed to be desperately trying to keep her composure. She knew that Kotone's relationships were her business, but... Had she completely gone insane? He's nice one moment, but absolutely callous the next; He was almost the textbook example of a bipolar person!

Fuuka was also in the same state of shock just about everyone was experiencing in some shape or form. Still, she did her best to smile and be glad for her friend's new relationship.

Yukari looked like her brain had been completely fried and everything she knew about relationships, common sense, and just about everything known to man went down the drain.

Aigis was... Well, she was Aigis.

"Just something to remember: _She seduced_ me; I did _not_ seduce her." Makoto clarified as he cherished every moment of SEES' shocked faces.

Makoto then returned to his new girlfriend whose eye was literally twitching in anger, embarrassment, shock, and so many other emotions that probably had a name somewhere.

"Sorry, hun. Had to make it clear that they couldn't try anything." Makoto proclaimed his 'innocence' before giving the trembling girl a hug followed by a kiss to the forehead.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid—" Kotone was cut off when Makoto leaned down and left another kiss on her lips which she couldn't stop from returning, all in front of her entire team which instantly killed any belief that this was a joke.

When the kiss broke, Makoto still had a smirk on his face "How 'bout I spend money on you tomorrow?"

Not yet recovered from the shock of everything, Kotone could only force herself to nod while uttering "Yeahsureallforitdarling!"

Makoto began to walk to the door, but not before eyeing the guys one more time "Remember..." he mouthed before taking his thumb and acting out the motion of slitting his throat. Once he instilled enough fear into the males of the team, Makoto left with what was probably now his best day on Earth.

...

...

...

Junpei gulped as something that Makoto said came to mind "What was that he said about money—"

Upon realizing what he was suggesting, Kotone let out a loud screech that pierced the air "Ah! Shut up, shut up, shut up..!"

* * *

_**Home** _

Makoto was still smiling to himself when he reached his apartment and kicked off his shoes. He had managed to make it back _just_ in time before it started to pour once again. Just like last night, he was essentially stuck inside his own home now.

The boy sighed as he remembered everything that had happened last night "Pharos..!" he called out to his old friend "C'mon, let's talk!"

And for the first time, Pharos did not answer him. Instead, the boy simply kept his silence and never even appeared. Before he'd always appear whenever called, but... Not this time.

Makoto tilted his head as he took a few steps forward and began to look around "Pharos?"

Suddenly, Makoto was left clutching his head as fell to the floor and everything he wished he could forget all came back flooding to into his brain at once.

 _"Minato!"_ The calling... The endless, horrible calling that seemed to echo each time it was said.

Pharos finally appeared and grabbed his phone which had fallen to the ground.

"You little fucking bastard!" Pharos looked up and saw that Minato had decided to come out to play. His head was also hurting, but it seemed like he was able to resist it enough to get a few words out.

"I'm merely doing what I have to do. You're the ones that are forcing my hand." Pharos explained his actions which were completely sound in his head. He knew what he had to do, so he had no choice but to do it.

"So what? Going to ruin everything like you ruined our family?!" Minato shot back which made Pharos' eyes widen for a moment before they narrowed in anger.

"Shut your mouth, vermin," Pharos demanded before he increased the pressure on Makoto/Minato's mental torture and the screams were only drowned out by the sound of the storm still raging outside.

With the phone in his hand, Pharos began to start pressing buttons.

Makoto - Hey, sweetie, uh... I dunno how to tell you this, but something important just came up so I'm going to be silent the next few days (including school).

Kotone - Aww... Y? I was so~ loking 4ward 2 later!

Makoto - Heh, learn how to spell! But, seriously, I... I have some things I need to work out with my foster parents.

Kotone - Oh... :c That bad?

Makoto - That bad. Just wanted to let you know.

Kotone - Alright! Gt bck 2 me soon! I luv you! :-*

Makoto - I will! Love you too, sweetheart! :-*

Pharos closed the phone as he looked at the boy writhing in pain. Now, where was he?

"D-Damn you..." Pharos titled his head, _that_ was Makoto's voice "I kept you safe for so long... even after everything... I hope you burn like she did you motherfucking brat.."

"Hmm..." Pharos hummed to himself as he considered those words. Those were _not_ words that Makoto would say, at least not to him. Were... Were the two starting to become one whole?

It was much worse than he had originally thought. It was his personal failure that things had escalated to this, so now it was time for him to remedy the situation. After all, what else were friends for?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeeeaaaahhh... sorry to all of the Makoto fans out there. 
> 
> Originally, this wasn't supposed to happen. Eventually, Makoto was SUPPOSED to just snap and eventually have this big arc where he tries to kills SEES... except I couldn't really find a good trigger for it. So, instead, evil!Pharos. 
> 
> This is arc is going to be very, very, very long. Like, ended not too long ago in terms of chapters long. Hell, in a way, it STILL has ended depending on your point of view.
> 
> Sidenote: I still think that part with Aigis was gold. Nothing's going to convince me otherwise.


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a big whoopsie! Uh, you see... I accidentally cut out an important part last chapter. You see, Makoto was supposed to tell her that Pharos was a thing and... yeah...
> 
> Rather than rewrite, we're to pretend that scene happened for now. I'll go back and add it back in (edited because of the context change, what with the lemon change and all) later.
> 
> Update: Added a portion where Pharos is mentioned now. It's a bit of a rush-job, but... well, it kinda was.

_**Dorm** _

Kotone couldn't prevent the small that formed from her lips the moment Makoto had sent his final message. While she much would've preferred it in person, it was nice to have him say 'I love you' to her.

It was almost impossible for her to get her head around it. She and he were actually... Well, she _and_ him.

Not only that, but the start of their relationship was immediately followed by consummation. As if that wasn't embarrassing enough, he went ahead and _told_ everyone with a smirk on his face all just to make it clear that she was taken.

 _I... Guess that was **kinda** sweet in its own way? _Kotone thought for a moment before her cheeks instantly flushed as she also remembered the stares everyone gave her which made her run to her room for solace—which was also the same place she was currently because even after several hours she couldn't muster the strength to leave. Going to school was going to suck.

Kotone sighed, every moment she thought about it the worse she felt for the poor boy. As if having mental disorders that were (possibly) worsened by his persona abilities—an assumption based on the two personalities seemed aware of the other's actions/memories since they always carried where the other left off flawlessly—he also had what could only be described as a demon bound to him too.

In a way, it made sense that his Makoto self was so cold and quiet when he first arrived here. He went through what must have been hell after watching his family die, only to then be left with a _demon_ as his only friend.

Still, he wasn't all gone yet. Despite his reluctance, Makoto still allowed himself to let his guard down in the end. But what happened to him to him though... That was the same mix of traits she saw when she cuddled with him during their first day at the beach. That wasn't Minato nor Makoto, but...

Maybe she was wrong before. Maybe Makoto wasn't just the result of some split, what if _both_ of them were? If that's the case, then the person she made love with was...

Kotone pressed a few buttons on her phone and was now giggling at a small little picture of the two she had managed to take just a few moments before he woke up. He would always have his head down during school and she had seen him literally claw himself in his sleep—heck, he even admitted that he had nightmares every night— but here he was in the photo sleeping peacefully beside her. Maybe there really is comfort in sleeping with someone you love?

 _Don't worry, Minato..._ Kotone thought as she flipped her phone closed _I'm here for you now. I can't make all the hurt go away, but I can at least be there when you need me most._

* * *

**_Home_ **

"I'm going to make this easy, Minato..." Pharos said as he closed the phone and continued to focus his gaze on the bluenette who had fallen to the floor just a few moments earlier and was clutching his head. "Get rid of her... and this'll all stop."

Makoto grunted as he tried desperately to push all the images that were forcing their way into his head to the back of his mind and glared at his old friend "... What the hell, Pharos?!" What was with Pharos' sudden aggressiveness? Sure, he might have been angry that he disobeyed him, but to go this far because of it...

Pharos let out a soft grunt as his gaze became even colder, and it felt like the room had become so cold to the point that Makoto could see his breath every time he exhaled "Not what I asked..."

Makoto was then lifted off the ground by an invisible force which threw him straight into the wall as if he weighed nothing more than feather in comparison.

"I'll say it again: Get ride of here." Pharos walked closer to the bluenette, keeping his gaze honed solely on him the entire time. Normally, Makoto would sooner die than disobey him, but now he was forced to do this... That girl would pay dearly for this some day.

Still, Makoto wasn't going to give up someone that had because so precious to his heart so quickly, especially now that he had Inheritor backing him up. The boy raised his head and said "... Fuck you."

Pharos took a deep breath and slowly exhaled which caused the temperature to lower to an extent that even Makoto was beginning to shiver despite normally being resistant to the cold.

"Sorry I have to do this..." Before Makoto could question what he meant, he was cut off and blood splattered when the young boy struck him in the face.

* * *

_**Hagakure** _

"Uh..." Junpei continued to watch in amazement as Kotone went through five bowls of ramen like they were nothing. He had just wanted to take her out to eat an hang out, but something told him that he was going to walk out with wallet being several sizes smaller and lighter.

Kotone was continuing to slurp the noodle;wolfing them down as if this was the last night she would ever taste food again. It was a mystery how she managed to eat so much, yet she was still so small and thin.

But even something like food with her friend couldn't distract her from what was really on her mind today.

So, today was the day that Makoto was trying to repair his relationship with his foster family if that text from the day before meant what it implied. That in of itself was a big step forward considering he had told her before that they simply had a live and let live policy before.

Still, she was a little upset that he had not decided to invite her, too. It _did_ make sense in a way since this could probably be viewed as something that he needed to do on his own, but she still would have loved to meet them.

 _Eh, that's not too~ important._ Kotone thought as she order three more bowls and continued to wolf them down, and completely ignoring Junpei's whimpers as he forfeited even more yen to the chef. Even if she was not directly involved, at least he was doing something to make his life better.

Every time she thought about it, Kotone couldn't help but smile and feel warm inside. Even though he'd be getting better, her feelings for him didn't waver in the slightest. So what if her loving broken things was probably what got her foot in the door, it wasn't the reason why she was staying.

* * *

**_Home_ **

Makoto slowly opens his eyes as he felt a ray of sunlight begin to shine in the room he was in. He must have passed out at some point in the midst of Pharos beating him to a bloodied pulp.

Makoto let out weak grunts and whimpers as he took rapid breaths just to perform the simple act of him slowly raising his right arm to his face and flexing his fingers in an ever slower motion before the limb feel hopelessly to the ground again.

Pharos re-materialized in front of him, and as soon as he did all the pain Makoto felt suddenly washed away as all of his injuries were gone in the blink of an eye. Even if he was going down the wrong path, Makoto was still his friend in the end.

Even though his injuries were gone, the intense pressure Makoto felt in his stomach remained. Try as he might, Makoto could raise himself from where he was due to both the pressure and the incredibly strong invisible force keeping him down.

"I'm sorry I had to do that..." Pharos mumbled to himself as he took step forward again "... But I had to make sure you didn't lose your way."

Makoto said nothing, he simply stared blankly at the boy in front of him. He's been hurt all of his life, but this was the first time he had ever experienced betrayal by someone he trusted.

"So, I'll ask you again..." Pharos said as he stood up straight, his confidence in his friend had returned now that he had reminded him of the only one who _truly_ cared about him even if it meant hurting him to show it "... Will you get rid of her?"

Makoto coughed for a moment before looking into the boy's blue eyes and saying "Pf, why don't you go fuck yourself? I don't listen to turn-coats, you fucking traitor."

Pharos blinked immediately after hearing that. Did he... Did Makoto just..?

Pharos immediately frowned and an invisible force pulled Makoto forward only to slam him back into the wall as Pharos approached with the bluenette's knife in his hand.

Pharos pressed the tip of the blade against some of his exposed skin, giving him a feel of the cold blade before he pushed it in a little bit, eyes studying Makoto as he squirmed, fighting back to hold the yell of pain in his throat as Pharos kept opening up the wound, bloodying his hand and arm until he asked one last time.

Makoto continued to say no and Pharos leaned his head close, frosting the area some more before he plunged half of the blade into his arm and started twisting and turning it inside.

Even more, blood splattered all over walls and floor as Pharos continued to inflict laceration after laceration and stab after stab. Makoto reached to grab the knife but was immediately stopped by a blow to the face so hard that he could feel his own teeth slice through the skin in his mouth.

* * *

_**Dorm** _

It had been two days since she had last seen him, and now Kotone was feeling a little worried. She didn't expect to see him, but a small little message saying how everything went would have been nice. Or maybe she was being a little needy?

Whatever the case, she still couldn't help but wonder how he was doing. He hadn't really said _anything_ about his foster family so he had no idea what to expect, so all she could do was sit and pray.

Maybe a single message wouldn't be all that bad, right? It wasn't wrong to ask how everything was going so far and it was her responsibility as his girlfriend to be sure he did not do anything stupid. Not to mention, he still had that _demon_ thing to deal with.

With this in mind, Kotone pulled out her phone and she lied in bed with her earphones on and pressed a few buttons.

Kotone: hy. m getting srt of worried abt u.

Makoto: I am fine, darling.

Kotone: dat demon boy...

Makoto: He's not pissed anymore. Don't worry about him.

Kotone: oh yay \o/

Makoto: \o/?

Kotone: It menz I'm cheering u on, dummy!

Makoto: Oh, well, thanks for that.

Kotone: U need 2 gt better at tlking in txt!

Makoto: Whatever you say. Anything else?

Kotone: Nah, jst wanted 2 see hw u were! Bond w/ ur family!

Makoto: Why? So I'll do a good job with ours?

Kotone: n/n

Makoto: Hehe. Is that an invitation for more practice on that?

Kotone: lol, shut up! Oh no, hve I made a monster?!

Makoto: Oh, you love it and you know you're happy I said it.

Kotone: ... gtg! Luv you!

Makoto: I love you too, sweetheart

Kotone: ^-^

* * *

_**Home** _

Makoto felt the bones in his jaw shatter as he took another blow to the face followed by a knife going downwards and stabbing just above his left collar bone. For the past few days, he had been forced to endure the cycle of sleeping/healing at night which was followed by more and more torture as he continued to refuse Pharos' orders.

At this point, the room was so cold that Makoto had lost all other feeling in his body except the pain that was continuing to ravage him. If he had to give Pharos credit for one thing, it was that he knew how to torture people. Not even Minato could take the pain, for he was left just as helpless as the two selves could only sit and endure.

He heard his phone vibrate occasionally which were the only breaks he really had from the constant pain. Whenever this happened, Pharos would stop to type on his phone often stopping to ponder his words for a brief moment.

Makoto zoned out as all the pain began to blend in together and he felt almost completely numb, or maybe that was just from the massive amounts of blood he had lost.

When he looked up, everything began to blur around him and his vision became incredibly unfocused. If he was standing, he probably would've just fallen down to the ground out of dizziness anyway.

Before he could even understand what was happening, the room around him began to spiral which caused Makoto's chest to tighten in fear at what was about to be revealed to him.

"Fuck, no, no, no, no..." Makoto whimpered as he shut his eyes tightly, refusing to look at what was in front of him for even a second.

However, Pharos had different plans.

Makoto screamed in pain and helplessness as the boy held his head and cut both of his eyelids off to forced him to watch what was in front of him.

Standing alone in the darkness was a short, young girl with long blue hair, pale skin, and blue-grey eyes.

Minako stood in front of him...

The girl began to walk forward with her arms stretched out to greet her brother with a smile on her face.

"Minako..." Makoto called out weakly as he instantly forgot any pain he was in and fought through the pain to reach out his arm towards his late sister.

Minako continued to walk towards her beaten brother, but then her smile quickly faded as flames began to spread through her entire body. Even then, the girl continued to walk towards him.

Despite the sight of his burning sister, Makoto couldn't bring himself to lower his arm. If she was going to burn, he could at least go with her this time.

Minako continued to walk forward as her flesh continued to chard and turn to ash.

Her eyes became nothing more than white blobs of flesh, her hair was gone; incinerated in the fire, and her skin was now red in some spots and burned black in others.

After just a few more few, Minako was close enough to finally reach out to Makoto and their hands were just a few centimeters from touching...

But then, what was left of Minako fell into nothing more than a pile of ash as she left with just a single whisper.

_"Minato..."_

* * *

_**Dorm** _

Beep.

Beep.

Kotone woke up the sound of her phone going off. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she reached out and answered her phone.

"Hello~?" She greeted whoever was on the other end.

"Greetings, Master Kotone." A man's voice greeted. This wasn't just any man, but it was the assistant of the master of the Velvet Room, Theodore!

"Hey, Theo!" Kotone greeted cheerfully as she instantly felt awake "What's up?"

"Yes, I've come to inform you that I'm afraid one of your associates are in a rather dire situation," Theo warned from the other end. While the rules of the Velvet Room made it so he couldn't give details, he could at least give vague warnings to Kotone, especially if one of her Social Links were in danger.

"Huh, what now?!" Kotone asked with instant urgency as she got out of bed in a millisecond "Is someone trapped in Tartarus?!" It was not unheard of for someone to be called by shadows and be trapped in Tartarus as prey.

"No, it is nothing of the sorts." Theo answered which relieved her somewhat "Still, you should do your best to find them. Good day."

"Bye, Theo!" Kotone bid farewell and hung up. That was vague, but it was what she had come to expect from the Velvet Room by now. Still, what did that warning mean?

Whatever it was, it could wait. There was something urgent to take care of now.

* * *

**_School_ **

After days off from an unexpectedly long break due to the storm, Kotone was now forced back into what was (in her mind) a legal prison.

She was half-hoping to see Makoto here after about a week of little other but text messages, but true to his word, Makoto was nowhere in sight. Despite none of the text even hinting at anything wrong, Kotone couldn't help but shake the feeling that something was off.

Sighing, the girl merely continued her scholarly duties and walked to school, and even came across two girls who always loved to gossip in the morning.

"Hey, have you heard about that haunted apartment?" The girl with buns that Kotone had nicknamed 'Bunny' whispered to her friend

"Haunted apartment? What's that about?" Bunny's friend asked naturally.

"Alright, so here's how it goes..." Kotone stopped and listened to Bunny's tale, mostly out of morbid curiosity since she had a certain fondness for scary stories, unlike Yukari. "There's an apartment out there where during the entire day there's nothing but screaming!"

"Whoa, creepy. Anyone go to check it out?" The friend asked another natural question

"Some of the neighbors went to investigate, but every time they got close to the door it suddenly felt freezing cold! The door handle looked like it was frosted too!" Bunny continued to share the story "Everyone's afraid to go in and see what's inside. Especially since one guy who did ended up with a broken leg even though _nothing_ touched him!"

"Creepy..." Bunny's friend shuddered at another ghost story as she and her friend made their way to class.

Kotone stood there frozen in place as what the two had just talked about.

Haunted apartment...

Suddenly cold...

Screaming...

Come to think of it, every time she actually _called_ him she only got a text saying he was with his family, she hadn't actually _heard_ his voice on the phone.

But that was impossible right? After all, how would all those messages be sent any way? After all, he was a physical being and...

_"Well, uh... You see... My friend took my phone and—"_

Kotone dropped her bags as the realization hit her. Pharos _could_ touch things! He's the one that took the provocative pictures! No, more than that, he was the one who had...

"Oh my god..." This whole time... It was never even Makoto...

Kotone was in such a daze in realization that she hadn't realized the world was continuing around her until she heard unified screams as all the light bulbs in the city suddenly began to flicker rapidly as if someone was constantly flicking someone unified light switch.

That sounded like the works of something supernatural. Almost like the work of...

Kotone immediately took off running in a full sprint as the lights' flickering continued to increase in frequency more and more.

* * *

_**Home** _

"G-Grgh..." Makoto grunted in pain clutching his head and his eyes continued to flicker between their normal state and a dim blue in the same frequency as the lights in the room along with the entire city.

All those images going into his head...

All the nightmares worming their way back...

all the pain...

Too much...

Too much...

TOO MUCH!

"G-GAAAHHH!" Makoto screamed as his eyes shined a bright blue and the lights in his room and the rest of the city suddenly bursting into sparks at the intense concentration of power dwelling from the bluenette.

Makoto was then left panting as he bundled into a ball in the corner; Afraid of whatever next hell he might be exposed to next.

"Minato!" He heard his name being screamed from the other side of the door along with the sound of someone sprinting towards it.

"Kotone..?" Makoto recognized that voice easily as he looked up from his little ball and at the door at the end of the dark, cold room.

 ** _There's something you've forgotten, Minato..._** Pharos whispered into the boy's ear as the sound of footsteps reached the door. _**Let me show you...**_

Kotone burst in through the door as fast as she could, discarding any mannerisms or concerns of how this would look.

Upon seeing everything, she had enough sense to kick the door shut to avoid any unwanted eyes from seeing the holy grail of blood baths that this room had become.

"Oh my—Minato!" Kotone took off running towards the bluenette again. She was so caught up in Makoto's current state, she didn't even notice Thanatos forming behind her until it was too late and she was pinned to the floor.

 _ **Allow me to remind you...**_ Pharos whispered as Thanatos let Kotone go, but only after she was set ablaze by a black flame.

Makoto could do nothing but watch as the girl he had fallen for continued to writhe and scream in agony as she tried desperately to smother the flames out.

The whole time, he kept flashing back the blue-haired girl he had seen burn so many years ago.

Screaming...

So much screaming...

He didn't even know how much time had passed before all that was in front of him was a charred body, just like the one he had seen before.

Makoto couldn't say anything, but he let out one last deafening shriek **"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**


	46. Chapter 46

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so... these next few chapters are a bit of a rush job because I just wanted to get straight to the action. I'm not going to pretend my writing was (or even is) great, but you'll probably notice a decline.
> 
> I also think I went too far with this yandere Pharos for a good portion of this. I mean, I needed a bad guy but... I think I went too far. I could rewrite, but that'd take too much time and diverge this too much from FF, meaning I'd probably have to change the narration for each in the present, and that's too much work.

_**Home** _

With her legs moving faster than she even knew they could, Kotone rushed over to a familiar building until she was greeted by a familiar door.

Just like the rumor said, the entire door looked frosted despite it still being September never mind inside an air-conditioned building. Even with the door acting as a barrier, she couldn't help but shiver as she felt the cold air leaking from the cracks that felt like what someone would feel during the coldest of blizzards.

Right when she was about to reach for the knob, Kotone heard a loud _**"STAY AWAY!"**_ Before an invisible force suddenly pushed her so hard onto her back that she slid on the tile floor from one end of the room to the other, and only stopping when she hit the wall.

"Argh, dammit..." Kotone muttered curses as she slowly got back on her feet. "What're you doing to him, you bastard?"

 _ **"Reminding him of something he's forgotten because of you."**_ Kotone looked back at the door and saw the frost begin to spread from the door to other parts of the building, but even with all the spread, it was focused on spread towards her.

Being wary of how slippery the floor must be now, Kotone carefully placed her steps to avoid falling over as she made her way towards the door.

 _ **"I. Said. NO!"**_ Another sudden push flew Kotone into the wall on her left. It was at this point that she began to wonder if the neighbors were gone or if their doors had frosted shut or something.

Kotone shook her head as she tried to regain her bearings, but a sound she would never forget for the rest of her life echoed in her ears **"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

That wasn't just a scream... It sounded like someone in perpetual agony.

People don't just scream like that when they were in pain... What was that _thing_ doing to him?!

"Minato!" Kotone rushed over to the door as fast as she could which caused her to fall forward more than a few times to the slick frosted floor, but eventually, she managed to make.

The moment she touched the doorknob, Kotone's hand instinctively recoiled in pain. The knob wasn't just frosted; it was so cold that her nerves made it feel like it actually _burned._

As she shook her hand to shake off the pain, she heard more thrashing from inside and what sounding like thrashing and whimpering. There was also a banging sound that was beginning to repeat over and over... Was he hitting his head on the wall now?!

"Ah, fuck it!" Kotone exclaimed as she bit her lip and tried to push the pain in her hands to the back of her mind as she tried to open the door, but found it stuck.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Kotone muttered as she attempted to force the door open by ramming it in.

BANG!

BANG!

Over and over she rammed her shoulder into the door, slipping and hitting her head on the door frame more than a few times.

 _ **"Leave..."**_ Pharos demanded again after Kotone slipped on the icy floor again and her entire body hit the ground with a thud.

"Go fuck yourself..." Even still, the redhead got back on her feet and gripped the doorknob again despite her burning sensation that was surging throughout her hands. "I am _**not**_ leaving him!"

Kotone rammed her shoulder into the door one more time and the door finally gave way.

The moment the door finally opened, the forward momentum that she had built caused the redhead to fall to the ground.

If the air outside felt like the coldest blizzard, then inside felt like it was almost absolute zero. Just being here for just a few seconds left her shivering and her breath leaving a crystal clear trail every time she exhaled and her lungs screamed at her in irritation every time she inhaled.

She looked up and finally saw him.

Blood covered the walls like a new coat of paint, the floors were stained a deep crimson, and the room was a complete mess as if everything had been thrown around.

But none of that compared to the boy himself.

Like the room itself his clothes and skin were either stained red or covered in the crimson liquid, he still had several unhealed lacerations from the torture that began as soon as the sun rose, his body was so badly damaged he looked like he was on that thin line between life and death.

Despite the wounds, he remained bundled into a ball slowly rocking back and forth while covering his ears and muttering words under his breath.

Upon seeing this, Kotone quickly began running to the boy again. "Minato!"

The moment she approached him and touched his shoulders, just like with the mental assault by Lovers he whimpered and began to push her away like a child "No more! No more! No more!"

"Minato, stop! Stop it!" She pushed away his weak flails and kicks as he brought himself to the corner of the room.

The boy's weak protest and resistance continued as Kotone continued to try and reach out to him. In his current state, it was impossible to even tell if it was Makoto or Minato in control.

"It's me! It's me!" Kotone tried desperately to reach out to him. She forcing her way past all of his weak attempts to push her away and cupped her hands around his face which caused him to squeeze his eyes shut.

"It's okay. It's okay." She whispered softly to the trembling boy. What did Pharos do to him these past few days?

Minato/Makoto slowly opens his eyes and look at the girl in front of him. All he saw was an image of Kotone with her left eye gouged out, blood trickling down both sides of her face like tears, her skin looked grey as if it had begun to decompose, and there were various patches of exposed muscle and bone all of which were bleeding heavily.

With another scream, Minato/Makoto closed his eyes again as he felt arms wrap around him and brought him to the only source of warmth he had felt for the past week.

 _Can't... can't take it anymore._ Makoto's thoughts repeated throughout his mind. Pharos knew just the right buttons to push and just where his pressure points were.

 _He... He dared..._ Minato felt anger replace any pain he may have felt inside. After what just happened he wasn't strong enough to do anything right now, but he knew where his stance was with Pharos.

Makoto was never his _friend;_ he was his obsession under the guise of friendship. Whether he knew it or not, Pharos' biggest priority was making sure Makoto stayed his and his alone now.

Kotone reached for her phone, but just like the lights, her phone had stopped working due to Pharos' supernatural presence.

"Dammit..." Kotone cursed as she grabbed his school blazer that was luckily on the floor next to them and forced it on Minato/Makoto before zipping it up to conceal the most obvious bloodstains.

"Come on, we're leaving!" Kotone grabbed his right arm and wrapped it around her shoulder to help him stand up. Whatever Pharos did to him, it left him a complete mess.

"He's right there..." Minato/Makoto warned, though his voice was only coming out as a whisper now. He opened his eyes and turned his head in the direction of where the boy stood glaring.

Kotone followed his gaze, but she still _saw_ nothing, but she could still something in the center of the room. She suddenly felt a strong feeling of pressure begin to settle throughout the entire room and she could swear that it was somehow getting colder with _him_ as the source.

_**"I will kill you."** _

Kotone scoffed as she carried Minato/Makoto out. Bringing him to a hospital would make him a living health hazard, so there was only one place she could think of...

"Want me? Come and get me, you little bastard."

* * *

_**Dorm** _

After sticking to the many alleyways and moving only when the crowds were mostly dispersed, the two juniors finally made it to the dormitory.

Like the loyal friend he was, Koromaru came to the entrance as soon as the door opened with his tail wagging until he saw Minato/Makoto's condition.

"Yeah, bad things happened, Koro-chan." Kotone explained vaguely "I'm gonna bring him upstairs, alright?"

Naturally, the dog didn't raise any objections, but even the canine felt something... off. Most of SEES' members had left for school while Shinjiro had decided to shop for some of the dorms essentials, but...

Koromaru titled his head in confusion. Why did he feel like there was another person here?

...

"There..." Kotone gently set Minato/Makoto on her bed. It was better to keep him close now more than ever.

The boy lowered his head for a moment to indicate a personality shift before raising his head again "You shouldn't have brought me here."

"Huh?" Was he serious? Did he _want_ her to leave him there in that frozen hell? "What else was I supposed to do?! You would've d—"

"Died? Pf..." Makoto chuckled weakly while shaking his head, sounding almost as if he was completely neutral about his current circumstances "He won't kill me. Actually, maybe it'd be more appropriate if I said he _can't_ kill me."

Makoto sighed as his blue-grey eyes met her crimson red ones. "If I go, then there's a chance he will too. And even if that isn't the case, he still wouldn't."

Kotone frowned as she moved forward and unzipped his jacket to reveal his blood-soaked shirt with freshly healed cuts—

Wait, what?

Makoto chuckled again when he noticed the confusion evident in her eyes "Told ya, he won't let me die."

Kotone unbuttoned his shirt to confirm what she was seeing, and true enough, the only marks there were the scars that he had gained during his scuffles with Sakuya.

"B-But, how… Why would he…"

Makoto sighed as he relaxed his back against the wall adjacent to the bed "I did tell you that he didn't like you." He reminded her before chuckling to himself "Funny thing is that he _was_ supporting at first, but I guess he couldn't stand me not having him as the center of my world."

Makoto kicked off his shoes before curling into a ball "I don't know what to do now."

"Hey, don't worry, alright?" She spoke gently as she scooted next to him to the point their shoulders touched and she wrapped one arm around him "I won't let him hurt you."

"That's not what I'm worried about…" Makoto shook his head that remained buried beneath his arms and legs "… He's going to hurt you. He'll hurt you just like he hurt them."

"What are you talking about?" Makoto raised his head again but kept it hanging as he couldn't stand to look at her lest he risks losing his nerve.

"He's the one that killed my family." Makoto explained, "He's not a demon, by the way, he is—Or maybe it'd be was—A shadow that was sealed inside my guts."

Makoto closed his eyes as he remembered that fateful day "I hated him… I hated him for a long time. But at the end of the day, he was all I had left. Pretty pathetic, right?"

Rather than answering, Makoto felt a sudden tug from the arm wrapped around him which forced him out of his little ball and into a full-blown embrace.

Kotone held onto him tightly with her arms squeezing him like she was afraid that he would somehow disappear if she let go. " _Don't ever_ say that again!" she demanded "God, you're such an idiot! You'd just lost everything; Of course, you wanted someone with you. If only I had met you sooner, I…"

Makoto wanted to say something in response, but he instead opted to rest his head on her shoulder. He had spent almost a week in a freezing room, so it was nice to have something warm next to him again.

Kotone kept holding onto him unwilling to let go no matter how tired her arms may have gotten. She knew that he had been left cold for a long time…. A cold she only felt by one other person.

"You're the hooded boy, aren't you?" She asked bluntly but still kept a tight hold on him.

"And I'm the one that killed Ikutsuki…" Makoto admitted any alarm in his head had gone silent in his mentally and emotionally weakened state "… He wanted to betray you, you know?"

"Huh?" Kotone finally pulled back to look at him in confusion, but the look in his eyes told her that everything he was saying was as true as the fact that he loved her.

"Had a recording on my phone too, but I guess I can't show it to you now." He chuckled weakly, remembering the fact that his phone had been left back in his apartment. "I used it as blackmail to learn a few things. Turns out, he was the one that handled Strega's and Sakuya's projects."

Kotone took a few moments to blink and process this. Ikutsuki was the one who had told them to eliminate the full moon shadows as well as the one who supplied them with most of what they knew on shadows, but now he was telling her that he was not old planning to betray them, but also the one who was the head of some of Kirijo's most immoral projects?

At the same time, how did Ikutsuki learn everything that he knew? Whenever he said something as fact, he never explained himself as Mitsuru trusted him seemingly more than anyone else on the team. More so, he always seemed to get excited whenever another shadow appeared and he didn't even seem to care too much when Junpei was captured by Chidori.

"Alright, I… I trust you." Kotone slowly nodded as the boy kept his eyes locked on her "But… Why were you so brutal?"

"It's what happen when I..." His answer was drowned out by a sigh and the growling he began to hear from the back of his mind, "I can't overdo it. When I use too much of whatever you'd call what's inside me, it... it changes me into something I... I couldn't help it."

Makoto's eyes drifted off to the side as he spotted the date on the calendar "Heh, funny…"

"What about this is _funny?_ " Kotone asked, genuinely starting to wonder if Makoto was losing whatever was left of his mind now.

"September twenty-fifth." Makoto pointed out "That was the day they died, but something else too; don't you remember?"

Kotone let out a small and short titter the moment she understood what he was referring to "Happy seventeenth birthday, Minato."

Seeing the clear exhaustion in his eyes, Kotone laced her fingers at the back of his head and pulled him forward onto her chest "I'd offer another _long night_ , but I think you'd like this more."

Makoto groaned weakly as he settled his head on her bosom and closed his eyes "You know, considering I'm a borderline sociopath at times, I think you might need to work on your taste in men."

Kotone giggled again "Oh, shut up and go to sleep." She whispered as she began to comb his hair with her fingers.

"Promise me something…" Makoto bit his lip almost sounding afraid to finish that sentence.

"Whatever you want, Blue."

"… Don't die. Just… Don't leave me here alone again."

Kotone tightened her embrace as much as she possibly could as she also closed her eyes "Heh. The only thing that'll kill me is old age with you beside me."

As much as he tried to fight it, Makoto couldn't help but let out a snicker "Lot of confidence for someone you've only been with for a week."

"Call it true love." Kotone claimed as she leaned her head forward until she was right next to his ear "Minato, I love you."

Pharos watched silently in the corner of the room as his friend drifted off to sleep in the arms of that redheaded bitch.

Makoto wasn't in the right state of mind anymore because of her, and thus she must pay the price. Once, he thought a non-violent approach to stopping Makoto's suffering was preferable, but now he sees that doing this the way they had originally intended was the only way that it would end with Makoto's true self intact.

All he had to do now was to wait for a few hours. As soon as SEES returned, then it would be time to end this once and for all. One way or another, Makoto was going to be his and only his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Pharos went full yan-chan.
> 
> Kotone took that Ikutsuki thing well all things considered... huh... really should have drawn more attention to that.


	47. Chapter 47

_**Dorm** _

"Unbelievable!" Mitsuru muttered in vexation to her senior friend walking beside her while Shinjiro (who was finally done shopping), Ken, and the juniors followed behind them.

"Calm down." Akihiko urged her as they walked back to their dorm. After the light bulbs suddenly burst in the school, Mitsuru was already stressed out from the sudden panic it caused, but it was then made worse with the fact that Kotone had suddenly disappeared out of the blue.

Mitsuru let out a long, exasperated sigh as she and the rest of SEES entered the dorm. Kotone had not let her or anyone else down yet, and it was likely that he must have had _some_ reason to suddenly leave. If nothing else, she could at least have a chance to explain herself.

The heiress turned to the girls "Can you check if Shiomi had returned to her room?"

Fuuka and Yukari looked at each other for a brief moment before nodding to her request. Without another word, the two juniors went up the stairs to their friend's room and gently knocked on the door.

"Oh—Um... Who is it?!" Kotone's voice could be heard from the other end. The girls let out a brief sigh in relief now that they have found who they were looking for.

"It's us," Fuuka answered the redhead's question, "You weren't at school today, so we came to check on you."

"Oh, um..." Kotone's voice trailed off as if she was considering what to say next, "... It's uh, kinda a long story."

Yukari gripped the doorknob, but as she was turning the handle a loud voice exclaimed, "Wait, don't come in right now! I'm, uh... J-Just don't!"

"What?" Yukari paused for a moment to ponder that. What reason would Kotone have to demand that they waited? Was she changing or something?

"Come on, we're all girls here," Yukari said dismissively as she turned the knob and opened the door, "We just want to know—" Her words were immediately halted by the sight of her not only hugging Makoto (which in of itself wasn't too strange), but seeing him covered in what looked to be his own blood.

Both girls gasped at what they were seeing and Yukari let out a loud, "Oh my god!"

"Makoto-kun," Fuuka called out to the boy as the two girls ran closer to the boy who had now opened his uncovered eye and focused on them.

"Makoto-kun, what happened to you," Fuuka asked the most natural question immediately. With the quantity of blood that he was covered in, one would think that the first priority would be to bring him to a hospital.

Kotone was about to answer, but instead, it was Makoto who answered with, "None of your business." The bluenette lifted his head from Kotone's chest and gazed at the two girls, "Shit happened, that's all you need to know."

Before anyone could even respond to what he said, Makoto tried to get off the bed, but the moment he got on his feet his legs just couldn't support the sudden weight.

Reacting quickly and catching him just in time before he could hit the floor, Kotone was quick to chastise him, "Don't be stupid! You can't walk on your own!"

"I'm fine..." Makoto shook his head, this time slowly adding more and more of his weight to his legs until he was standing—albeit with strain clearly evident in his posture. Pharos may have healed him when he arrived, but he certainly didn't do enough that he was essentially unscathed.

Disregarding all of the girls' protest, Makoto walked out of the room with one heavy footstep after another, leaving all three them alone in the room.

"I hope he'll be alright," Fuuka expressed, even if he was rude to her teammates, she still hoped the boy was not pushing himself to hard.

Yukari let out a loud grunt in frustration, "Seriously, Kotone, what the hell do you see in him?"

Kotone sighed, "He's a good person, just..." She lowered her head, "It's hard to explain."

...

Makoto continued forcing himself to walk which caused his entire body to scream at him with every movement. Even if his external injuries were healed, he was still a complete wreck inside.

The boy was me with a cacophony of his own name the moment he reached the ground floor.

Ignoring them, Makoto dragged himself past the lounge and to a seldom used closet. Inside were ordinary and unremarkable things such as pens, paper, and other mundane things. He'd been here and before with Pharos exploring every inch of the place, so he knew this place better than most of SEES probably did.

"Yuki, what're you..?" Mitsuru was completely ignored by the bluenette as he grabbed a piece of paper and pen, and started writing for a few moments before turning to the redheaded heiress.

Makoto slowly walked to her and pressed the paper against her chest until she finally grabbed it from his hands. On the paper was a list of what seemed to be numerous medications, most of which she had never even heard of.

Mitsuru looked up at the boy and frowned "Yuki, do you honestly expect me to get these for you?" Who did he take her for? A glorified drug dealer?

Makoto just continued to glare at her with cold eyes as a sudden draft made everyone shiver for a moment "Trust me, it's better for everyone if you do. I could give my..." he paused for a moment "... My caretakers a call and get those legitimately, but that'd take too long."

"Get them legitimately..?" Mitsuru looked back at the paper again to study it. He could get all of those legally if he wanted too? What were they even for?

Makoto sighed, knowing exactly what was going on in her head "They're my backup plan in case the nightmares become too much for me to sleep."

Without even giving her time to further ask any more questions, Makoto began to walk back up the stairs to go to the room he had stayed in before after his first fight with Sakuya. He had lied, of course, but it still had a hint of truth in that they _did_ help him sleep at night.

...

Makoto collapsed onto the bed and looked at the pale white ceiling that was surrounded by even more white in the forms of walls. The bed felt rather comfortable and the sheets kept him warm despite the temperature of the dorm decreasing ever since he arrived, which did make sense as Mitsuru herself was staying here with her teammates.

Even after the constant disrespect and doing absolutely nothing but giving her more reasons to scorn him, she still put up with him. She knew that he was never going to join willingly, but she still paid for his hospital expenses and was likely about to pay for the drugs after hearing his story.

It was strange, really. Had anyone done anything remotely similar to him, then he might have just let them die or fend for themselves a long time ago. In fact, he might as go as far to say that these were the actions of a _good_ person.

At the same time, that didn't matter. Her family killed his, so it was natural for the survivor to seek retribution. It wasn't completely directed at her, though. Her father, Takeharu, was a survivor of what happened ten years ago, so the sins of his father and Ikutsuki's were his as well. In that case, he was going to experience the same pain Makoto had felt; losing everything you love and thus, your reason for living.

 _But does that even matter anymore?_ Minato questioned the thoughts going through his other self's head.

Even though their relationship wasn't great, he still had a foster family that cared for him to some extent. He had done nothing for them, but they were still willing to send him money every month along with paying for his tuition and even home for him to stay in... Even though that home might be covered in ice now.

He had Kotone now, so his lonely self was a lot less lonely now. Pharos betrayed him, so now she was all he had left. She was his first love, and she was also the only person he knew that would be willing to face the wrath of a supposed demon itself just to save him.

 _Guess it's what they would've wanted, isn't it?_ Makoto thought as he sighed to himself. There was no point in trying to get vengeance now, was there? The only reason he really wanted it was to get the nightmares to stop, and now that he had her, they have.

"Did you think you can get away with this?" Makoto turned his head and saw his former friend glaring at him in what was unmistakably an unholy mixture of anger and frustration.

"You're one to talk," Makoto said as he lifted himself up and used his hands for support, "You think you have the right to judge me, do you? In case you forgot, _you're_ the one who betrayed me."

Hearing him utter the word 'betrayed' was nothing short of painful for the small boy, but he knew that he could not have _truly_ meant it. No, it was all because of that woman, because of her, he was not thinking like he normally would and he was just confused now.

Suppressing his anger as best he could, Pharos restrained himself from lashing out again and attempted to speak calmly again, "I'm only doing what I know it best for you," he attempted to justify his actions, "You might not see it now, but this is for your own good."

"Cheap words, especially when we both know you won't be able to do much if Kirijo does what I told her," Makoto said with a smug look on his face with only served to anger Pharos more, "What's wrong, did I upset you? Maybe I should give you a few blows to the face to show how much I love you."

Pharos' eyes widen briefly before looking down as he remembered every injury he inflicted on Makoto. Every hit was just as painful to him as it was for Makoto, but he knew it was a necessary evil.

But, if Makoto really does what he was intending to do, then that meant that…

Seeing the sad look on his face, Makoto's ire only skyrocketed, "Oh, what's wrong, sad I used a hurting word? After everything you just did to me?!"

Pharos' eyes widened even more as he took a step back in shock as his former friend's anger continued to climbed at an astounding rate, "You fucking brat! This is how you repay me!? I took you in, I befriended you, despite all the shit you have done in the past, but you just cannot stop, can you? You fucking abomination. You ruin everything that you touch!"

That was enough that Pharos was finally pushed over the edge.

In the blink of an eye, Pharos dashed forward and plunged his bare hand straight into Makoto's stomach.

Makoto instantly hunched over from the impact and could only utter a few quiet grunts in shock as the pain slowly began to register in his brain.

…

…

Kotone sighed as she was finally left alone in her room to think to herself. It had been a rough day already, and now there's no telling what would happen with Minato/Makoto at the dorm.

If what he said was true, then Makoto literally had a shadow sealed inside of him. How this shadow became his friend was a mystery to her, but now it was going out of control now that she was 'stealing' Makoto from it.

Who would have thought that even shadows could have feelings? Though, she guessed that it made sense since Makoto already showed he was pretty possessive—something that he made _very_ clear the day he brought her home.

As she was thinking to himself, Kotone felt a cold draft in the air and she knew just what it was.

Kotone immediately jumped off her bed and began to slowly can her room, "What do you want," she called out to the invisible threat.

Kotone then watched as scratches began to appear on her wall, taking off the paint. The writing began as simple strokes before they began to form recognizable words.

" **LEAVE HIM"** was what the scratches formed.

Kotone scoffed, "I told you, I'm _not_ leaving him! Not now, not ever!" Did Pharos actually think she would leave him? Especially after what he had just done to Makoto, "Hell, if anything, you should leave him!"

More red writing began to appear to form more words, **"LAST WARNING"**

"You can't scare me," Kotone declared, unwilling to let Makoto go back into that monster's clutches, "In case you forgot, I made sweet and tender love with him while you did nothing but scream! I don't care what you say or threaten to do to me; you _can't_ make me run away!"

Rather than writing, Kotone could only hear laughing _**"Hahahahahaha!**_

Kotone raised an eyebrow as unease began to settle in, "What's so funny," she asked suspiciously.

More scratches began to appear until it formed the words, **"Blue is my favorite color...** **"**

Like a sledgehammer hitting concrete, it all hit Kotone hard as she realized what he meant.

Without stopping to think for a moment, she was dashed for the door while shouting, "Minato!"

Rather than dash to the door, Kotone was suddenly launched _into_ the door which caused it to break off its hinges at the sudden impact.

"Ugh…" Kotone grunted as she slowly lifted herself with her arms. It didn't take long for the girls—who had been in there just a few moments ago—to come running to see what the commotion was.

"Kotone-chan, what's—" Fuuka was cut off when she was suddenly launched into Yukari, knowing both of them down like a bowling ball rolling into pins.

Before she could do anything, Kotone was launched into the air again until she landed next to her two friends.

Almost immediately after she landed, all three of the juniors felt a sudden push that made them fall down the stairs.

By the time the girls had finally reached the ground floor after gaining several bruises, the lights began to rapidly flicker.

Naturally, Aigis and all of the male members of SEES came running as soon as they could.

"Whoa, what the hell happened?" Junpei was the first to ask the most obvious question.

Kotone groaned beside her friends as she scanned the group, "Where's Mitsuru-senpai?"

"She went to go get the medicine Yuki-san asked for," Ken answered as the flickering lights began to increase their pace.

Shinjiro looked up at the flickering lights for a moment before going back to the previous question, "What the fuck is—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Shinjiro was launched into the air like the girls before him and impacted with the wall.

Barely a second after that happened; Ken was immediately and effortlessly thrown into Akihiko much like Fuuka was thrown into Yukari.

Junpei felt pain in his lower back as if someone had punched him in the kidneys before he was also thrown across the room.

Koromaru growled as he attempted to track whatever was causing this, but this was soon met by the feeling of being kicked in the stomach which had enough force to send him into a wall.

"Scanning area now!" Aigis announced as she did exactly as she said. To the naked eye, nothing was happening, but Aigis was detecting temperature fluctuations throughout the entire room. The coldest point was… Seemingly in the shape of a child?

As she analyzed the figure, it moved next to a vase and then proceeded to throw the object directly into her face.

Yukari finally got onto her feet and screamed, "What's going on?!"

As quickly as that sentence came, she was tossed into the table in the center of the lounge causing it to break on impact.

Fuuka was about to get up as well but soon felt her face pushed into the wall before she was thrown to the other side of the room.

As Shinjiro was about to recover, a knife was suddenly thrown from the kitchen and launched deep into his shoulder.

Aigis scanned the area again and ran to the source of the low temperatures which was now in the kitchen.

As soon as she arrived, Aigis was caught off guard as the entire fridge was launched at her. Barely managing to brace herself just in time to avoid critical damage, she was knocked down onto the ground.

Ken was then suddenly lifted by the hair at the back of his head before being forced to impact face-first onto the floor.

Akihiko was about to react, but this was soon met with what felt like a kick to the face and was tossed on top of the still-recovering Junpei.

Koromaru whimpered as he tried to get up, but this was met with another kick to the stomach which made the canine let out another yelp.

Kotone was finally about to stand, but a sudden tug on her foot caused her to hit the ground again before she was thrown to the center of the room.

As the chaos in the lounge continued, the door opened to reveal Mitsuru walking in with a bag of medicine in hand.

Upon seeing the room, Mitsuru froze in place in shock, "What—"

The heiress was cut off when she felt something grab her arm and she was suddenly sent flying into one of the lounge's sofas.

Now no longer needing to wait for anyone else to return, Pharos decided to make things more hectic by causing the entire dorm to rumble which made it harder for anyone to regain their balance.

Kotone felt something grab her by her high-ponytail and slammed her straight into the wall.

Shinjiro screamed in pain as he felt the knife tear out of his flesh before he felt what seemed to be a punch to the face.

The knife was then stabbed straight into the girl's left shoulder which made her scream in pain as it slowly twisted inside her.

The knife pulled back and was now aiming directly in the center of her chest; it was aiming directly at her heart.

Kotone was able to react just in time to grip the knife by its handle to stop it. The knife felt as if it had the entire force of an actual demon behind it as it slowly began to get closer and closer to the center of her chest.

**Pop**

Kotone turned her head while still gripping the knife to see Makoto with a hole in his belly and had every single scar on his body seemingly burst and were now oozing blood, and was now holding an open bottle of pills, presumable being the medicine that Mitsuru had bought which had fallen onto the floor.

Despite his injuries, Makoto let out a weak chuckle as Pharos stared at him wide-eyed as he held the knife, "Suck on this, ya cuck…" he muttered before taking out some of the pills and swallowing them.

Pharos immediately dropped the knife and ran toward him. The moment he could, the boy hit the bluenette as hard as he could in the stomach in a desperate attempt to force him to regurgitate the substance.

Makoto coughed blood, but the attempt still remained unsuccessful as he kept what he had ingested down in his stomach.

Left with little choice, Pharos forced his hands back into his belly; if he couldn't get Makoto to vomit what was in his stomach, then he would simply have to rip it out of him.

This came too late as the fast-acting medicine he took did its wonders and Makoto's consciousness began to fade away.

Without his friend's consciousness to sustain him, Pharos faded away as his friend dropped to the floor, the lights stopped flickering, and everyone was finally able to recover.

Everyone grunted and groaned before uttering some variation of, "T-The hell was that?"

Kotone slowly got back on her feet and wobbled her way to Makoto, only to see that now that the wounds that Pharos had inflicted were doing their usual instant-healing now that he was unconscious and Pharos' ability to interact with everyone else was effectively neutered.

"Shiomi!" Kotone shook as her name alone felt like it had enough force to shatter an entire planet.

Kotone slowly looked back at her confused and scared teammates; all of who noticed that everything went back to normal the moment Makoto was out cold.

Mitsuru took a step forward as she stared sternly at the redheaded girl "Shiomi, what was that?" Makoto being covered in blood and then _this_ could not have been a coincidence, and if she was the one who brought him here, then she had to of known something.

"I-I… It's…" Kotone searched desperately for an explanation, but she found none.

"T-There's…. There's a demon bound to him!" She blurted out which naturally caused shocked looks to appear on everyone's faces.

"A-A demon..?" Almost everyone repeated at once as the information sunk in. On top of shadows and a cursed hour, there were _demons_ now?

"You brought him here?!" Mitsuru shouted loud enough that it rattled everyone's ears, "What were you thinking?! He almost got all of us killed!"

"Please, please don't kick him out!" Kotone begged her senior, "That's why he asked for the drugs, right? He can't hurt anyone like that!"

"And how certain can you be of that?!" Mitsuru demanded an answer, but none came as it was nothing more than an assumption of hers.

"Ugh," Mitsuru let out a loud grunt as she was tempted to just tear out her hair, "I'll be in my room while I think about what to do about…. This!"

* * *

_**?** _

Makoto opened his eyes and found that he was in nothing more than a dark void.

Whatever he was standing on right now was a complete mystery as there was no visible floor or anything resembling ground.

If one were to go running, they would look like they were running in place despite actually moving as they would anywhere else.

Still, it didn't frighten Makoto, for even he knew what this place was.

"Hiya, Prince." Makoto turned around and saw a perfect copy of himself, but with bright blue eyes that contrasted with his bright yellow ones.

"Inheritor…" Makoto returned the greeting with a nod, "… What do you want?"

"Hey, I'm on _your_ side here!" Minato said half-jokingly with a smile on his face, "For real though, you did the right thing."

Makoto looked away into more of the endless void of nothingness, "My only friend betrayed me."

"Hey..!" Minato called out to him before walking closer and leaving him a small punch on the arm, "You have her, don't ya?"

"…" Makoto kept his silence. He loved Kotone, but it was going to take more than that to heal a wounded heart. Pharos had been the only one he had for so long, and now even he had stabbed him in the back.

"As I said, you're doing the right thing, Makoto." Minato reassured his other self before extending his hand, "Come on, the option is yours now. It'll all finally stop."

Makoto slowly looked back at Minato but didn't move another muscle after. What Minato was offering was tempting, almost to the point of being impossible to refuse.

Yet, at the same time, he could not bring himself to agree either. To agree would be to completely change his entire existence, and that was something he was nothing short of hesitant to do.

Seeing the uncertainty on his face, Minato lowered his hand and nodded, "Alright, I get it. You can take as long as you need."

Makoto nodded, "Thanks," he began to look around, "Will I be waking up soon?"

Minato shrugged, "Well, you're kinda high off pills, so… I'd say you've got a fifty-fifty chance of waking of in a daze."

"That should be enough to keep him from doing anything." Makoto thought out loud before turning his back to his other self and walking away, "Later, Inheritor."

Minato let out a brief chuckle as he saw his other self walk away from him, "Later, Makoto… See you later."

* * *

_**Dorm** _

Mitsuru paced in her room as she considered what to do with the boy next.

There was no question to it, she _had_ to get rid of him; there was no way that he could stay here.

It had nothing to do with his callous behavior, now his very presence was a threat to everyone in the entire dorm. Even if he was on pills to keep in docile, he was still a bomb waiting to go off.

She was gone for just a few moments, and her entire team had been thrown around like rag dolls. Had Makoto not have taken the pills just in time, they would have all died.

**BANG**

**BANG**

**BANG**

"Senpai, please, open up!" Kotone begged as she repeatedly banged on the door leading to Mitsuru's room.

And then there was Kotone to think about. She had brought him here despite knowing how dangerous he was and even had the gall to think to tell them to _keep_ him here!

"Senpai, please, listen to me," Kotone cried on the other end, "There's something else you need to know!"

Still, Mitsuru did not answer the door. If she did, she knew that Kotone would try to do whatever it took to get her to agree.

Kotone continued to bang on the door, "For god's sake, your family did this to him!"

Mitsuru's eyes widened for a moment as Kotone hit her one weak point. In a moment's notice, Mitsuru answered the door to reveal Kotone now had puffy red eyes.

"What're you talking about?" Mitsuru asked bluntly, wanting to know if this was just a trick to get her to open the door.

"It's not a demon, alright? A _shadow_ was sealed inside him!" Kotone poured out the truth which caused Mitsuru to recoil in shock.

"A shadow..?" Mitsuru repeated in surprise, "H-How is..?"

Kotone shook her head, "I don't know, but I do know that's what happened." She continued, "If a shadow was sealed inside him and if your family really caused the Dark Hour, then you _owe_ it to him to try and help him!"

Mitsuru slowly blinked as it all made sense to her.

Makoto had treated her with nothing more than disrespect despite her best efforts, and now it all made sense.

He had figured it out on his own that Kirijo was the cause of everything, and he knew that she and her family had placed that _thing_ inside of him for who knows how many years.

Makoto didn't disrespect her out of blind anger; he despised her because of everything her family had done to him.

"Where is he?"

…

Mitsuru stood beside the sleeping bluenette who was now lying in the same room he had been tortured in just a few moments ago.

If what Kotone said was true, then everything that has happened to him so far is all her family's fault.

Everything that had happened to Makoto in the past along with what had just happened today was all her family's fault.

As painful as it was for her to admit, Makoto had every reason to hate both her and her family for what had been done to him.

Mitsuru let out a long sigh, "Yuki, there's no way I can ever make amends for what my family has done to you…"

The heiress walked towards the door, knowing that Kotone was going to want to trade places and be with him for as long as she could now.

"But I will do whatever it takes to end your suffering. That I can and will promise you." She declared before leaving to go inform the others of her decision.

There, lying in the bed, Makoto smiled faintly as his mind was in a haze from the drugs, but he was still sensible enough to understand everything she had said.

"Hope you're right... for both our sakes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think there are any sedatives that you consume that knock you out that fast. Meh, I just wanted this done and over with back then. Probably should have just used tranquilizers.


	48. Chapter 48

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this one was just filler. You can skip this if you want. I was so out of ideas I decided to just give everyone a few laughs.

_**Dorm** _

Mitsuru descended down the stairs and approached the still unsettled members of SEES as Kotone remained standing alone hoping that Mitsuru would make the right decision.

The heiress let out a long sigh before speaking up, "He's staying here." she gave the answer that shocked the entire dorm.

Being the one most afraid of ghosts, Yukari was the first one to speak up, "Why would you keep him here?! Especially after today!"

Junpei grunted from the pain that was still present in his lower back, "Not to mention, the guy is a grade-A asshole to everyone except Ko-tan." Even though Makoto had warned him the day they met, he was still beyond insufferable to just about everyone.

"We can't just leave him!" Fuuka cried, despite the boy's constant rudeness, she wasn't just going to just leave the boy to the wolves. Just as Makoto had described her, she was an innocent girl and believed that even people like Makoto deserved help when they needed it.

"I don't know..." Akihiko murmured as he tried to take everything into consideration. It would be wrong to just leave the boy to deal with that _thing_ all by himself, but at the same time, he was a walking, talking health hazard to anyone/anything he was around when he was conscious and/or not in a daze from those drugs, "What do you think Shinji?"

Shinjiro grunted to himself as he gave Ken an ice pack for the bruise that was beginning to form on his head from earlier, "Just do whatever, as long as this kind of bullshit doesn't happen again."

Koromaru barked, but it seemed to be directed at Aigis as a means to get her attention.

Aigis paused for a few moments and spoke up, "If there truly is an entity bound to him, that may be why my sensors identify him as a threat one moment and an ordinary human the next," she theorized, "However, there was also a moment in which I felt an urge to protect him. I do not know why, but I believe that while dangerous, his survival is very important. Therefore, I support Mitsuru-san's decision."

There was a brief moment of silence both from the shock that _Aigis_ had just opted to keep Makoto here, but also to take a moment to consider what she had said.

"Well... I guess he hasn't done anything too horrible." Junpei muttered in agreement. If he really had something like that bound to him, maybe that was why he was so cold to everyone?

Yukari let out a soft whine for a moment before relenting, "Just... don't let today happen again."

Kotone immediately beamed at everyone before bowing her head in thanks, "Thank you! Thank you so much!" She continued to thank them over and over before taking another moment to analyze the room, "Man, and all of this was on his birthday. I was going to give him a present, dammit!"

Upon hearing that, Junpei couldn't help but wonder, "What was the present?"

" _None_ of your business!" Kotone exclaimed before running up the stairs to see her boyfriend again and muttering, "Bought those blue panties for nothing..."

...

"Hey, Blue." Kotone greeted the dazed bluenette. He looked like that while he was able to fight the urge to actually fall asleep, his mind wasn't completely there either.

Makoto grunted as he shifted his head that rested on the pillows, "Blue, huh? In that case; Hey, Red."

"Hey, so..." Kotone sat on the edge of the boy's bed. Even now, he was still clad in the blood-soaked clothes that he arrived her in, "... Mitsuru-senpai's letting you stay here now."

"Mm-hmm..." Makoto hummed as he smiled back at her, "And you remember what today is right?" he asked as he supported himself with his hands, still possessing that normally reserved smile of his.

"Mm-hmm..." Kotone nodded, a faint blush began to spread across her cheeks as she remembered the _present_ that she had arranged for him on the slim chance that she would have had to of seen him today given the earlier excuse, "Happy birthday, Minato."

"And where are the presents?!" He asked as he suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her on top of him which caused her to let out a yelp in surprise.

"Whoa! Minato! Hey—" She was cut off when his lips suddenly attempted to devour hers. Such an action caught her by surprise, but she found herself about to return the favor until a thought occurred.

Kotone immediately pulled back from the kiss as a realization hit her, "A-Are... Are you high from the pills?!" Come to think of it, she did not exactly have time to look up the side effects of the pills he took. Not to mention, he still has a literal shadow inside of him, too.

"... I dunno. What I do know is..." Suddenly, Makoto's arms that were still around her began to squeeze her close to him like she was a living teddy bear, "... I'm not letting you go~!"

"No, no, no!" Kotone objected, but even while he was high off pills that were designed to knock you out immediately, he still possessed a death grip that anyone else would be jealous of, "H-Hey! Quit it!"

"U-Um..."

Both of the juniors look towards the doorway where they saw Junpei who had just dropped more of the sleeping pills onto the floor and was now standing there in complete and utter shock.

"S-So uh..." Junpei gulped as he took a step back and let out a nervous laugh, "Hehe, guess you'll uh... be needing different kinda pills, huh?"

"T-This isn't what it looks like!" Kotone was quick to defend herself as his cheeks quickly began to turn a bright red.

Almost as if he was waiting for the perfect moment, Makoto then followed up with, "It's not?"

"We weren't doing anything!" Kotone continued before what Makoto had just said actually processed in her brain.

"We weren't?" Makoto followed up again.

"NO!" Kotone denied as she glared at the bluenette who still had her in his arms.

"Hmm..." Makoto looked down for a moment, "You say we weren't, but _he_ is in denial!"

Almost as if her sheer embarrassment had somehow become a source of newfound strength within her, Kotone began to quickly turn and thrash around until she was finally able to escape the bluenette's gift.

However, by then, Junpei had already left the area, "Hey, guys! Get a load of this!" His voice was loud enough that one likely would have been able to hear him on the fourth floor.

Kotone's eyes widened for a moment as she dashed out of the room as quickly as she could while letting out a loud scream. It was bad enough that they already knew more details than she would have liked thanks to Makoto's declaration last week, but _Junpei_ was about to spread misinformation.

By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, everyone was looking at her with bright red faces, "Everything he told you is a lie!"

"No, no, we get it, Ko-tan," Junpei said with his usual grin which only served to make every so, so much worse for the redhead, "Need some time under the covers after everything."

Kotone's eyes instantly had the fire of a thousand suns as she glared at the capped more, "WE WERE NOT—"

From behind the girl came the sound of footsteps came from what sounded like someone stumbling his way through the halls and steps. It didn't take long for them to figure out who it was.

"Oh no, he's up!" Yukari warned everyone as the bluenette came stumbling his way into the room.

"Hehe..." Makoto let out a soft chuckle as he tried (and failed) to stand himself up straight, "... That's not the _only_ thing standing!"

The moment that sentence was uttered, everyone looks back at Kotone, "We didn't do anything!" she screamed before muttered "... Not yet, anyway."

Makoto laughed as he stumbled his way forward, "Man, did that Ice Queen slip-in a few blue-pills, too?" he asked before staring at the redheaded heiress, "Aw, I always knew you had a thing for me!"

Mitsuru's eyes shot wide open at the mere suggestion, "Y-Yuki! Pull yourself together or—"

"EVERYONE HAS A THING FOR ME!" Makoto announced as he threw his arms into the air second before his haunches landed on the floor, "It's no wonder! My _Mara_ is overwhelming, ain't that right, Kotone!"

"..." Kotone said nothing in response; she only looked down to avoid eye-contact as her cheeks became as red as her crimson eyes.

Ken, however, was completely lost as he looked at everyone, "Uh... What's a Mara?"

"Give me a few, kid, imma show all y'all!" Makoto announced as he stood up again with his hands in the air, "Today's Makoto appreciation day, dammit!"

"To hell it is!" Yukari screamed as she jumped back before he could take any steps closer to her or any of the other girls, "Stay away from me!"

"Alright, alright..." Makoto slurred as he faceplanted onto the ground from his terrible balance, "So you're a little nervous? I was, too! I was even a little scared of the dark until I saw your leader naked!"

If there was ever a moment that Kotone's entire soul was screaming, now was definitely the time, "MINATO!" She screamed his name, desperately hoping that would get something out of him.

Makoto rolled on the floor in laughter as he rubbed his ears, "Haha, hey, don't deafen me again! I'm surprised I didn't get noise complaints from all the screaming you did!"

He...

Just...

Would...

Not...

Stop..!

Makoto finally managed to stand on his feet as Kotone nearly passed out from embarrassment from all of her teammates' shocked faces. He was lucky he was high right now, otherwise, she would have throttled him before knocking his lights out after castration.

"I mean, fuck..." The bluenette rubbed his shoulders that now had fresh scars from all the torture Pharos had inflicted on him, "She scarred me more than that Sakuya chick!"

That was enough for Kotone to finally shake free from being an embarrassing mess. Did he just say that Sakuya _chick?!_

"Excuse you?!" Kotone screamed at him while giving the fiercest glare she had ever given in her entire life.

Makoto took a moment to mull over what he had just said, "Boy... I meant the dude..." He corrected himself, "... Huh, I wonder what he's doing right now."

* * *

_**Elsewhere** _

"What do mean 'destruction of property'?!" Sakuya screamed his question to the officer in front of him who was confronting him for his previous actions.

The officer looked bewildered for a moment before saying. "Sir, you punched and kicked five vending machines until they ceased to function..."

"Those pieces of shit didn't function anyway!" Sakuya defended his actions as somewhere else, children cried when they saw that their second-favorite machine was destroyed almost beyond recognition, "I press the button over and over, but they didn't do shit!"

"How much yen did you put into it?" The officer found himself wondering, even if his actions would still remain unjustified.

Sakuya tilted his head, "The fuck is yen?!"

The officer's jaw nearly dropped at that moment, "U-Uh... This county's form of currency." He answered

"The fuck is currency?!" Sakuya asked which almost killed the officer from the sheer shock alone. The brunette clutched his head for a moment as his blue eye began to turn grey from his annoyance, "Grr, this fucking bullshit!"

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down." The officer tried to calm the situation before it could escalate to violence.

Sakuya glared straight into the officer's eyes, "Blame the Plume in my brain!"

The officer just stood at him perplexed before it finally hit him. With the scar on the boy's face, he must have had some form of brain damage from an accident that left A piece of shrapnel in his brain!

If that was the case, would convicting the boy be seen as him oppressing the mentally challenged? In a world where everything is connected through the internet, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Sir, do you have any relatives that we could call?" The officer asked. By the look of him, he seemed like he was still in his late teens, so he must have someone who watches over him.

"Uh..." Sakuya thought to himself for a moment, "My dad's dead now, and my mother... Huh, I don't remember my mother actually."

The officer let out a long, exasperated sigh, "This is gonna be my whole day, isn't it?"

* * *

_**Dorm** _

Makoto shrugged the thought from his mind, "Anyway, have I mentioned how flexible she is? Man, all those sports have done wonders for her!" he continued his original subject.

That was enough to spark Kotone's ire, causing her to bite her lip as a wave of pure anger began to flood through her entire body. Pills or not; high or not, now he was just going too far.

Makoto laughed for a few more moments, "And you," he exclaimed as he pointed at Fuuka, "I gotta say... the small and innocent thing, it's fucking adorable!"

"O-Oh..." Fuuka's cheeks flushed as they became a bright red, "T-Thank you..."

"Seriously, how have you not had a boyfriend yet? Damn, do I need to find one for you?" He questioned before looking at the next person, "And you!" Now, it was Junpei's turn to be pointed at.

Junpei gulped as he took a step back, "Y-Yeah..."

Makoto chuckled, "You know... I always found it kinda annoying the way you grin all the time, and I always feel the urge to punch you so~ goddamn hard. But, you smile anyway, and I respect that."

Suddenly, he spotted his next person of interest, "Oh, Aigis..!" he called her and moved just in time to avoid a punch from Kotone that ended up hitting Junpei square in the face.

Aigis stared at the bluenette who repeatedly stumbled as he walked closer to her. It was obvious that the pills side effects were affected his behavior, but something told her that what he was saying was at least _partially_ true.

Makoto laughed loudly as he gazed at the mechanical maiden, "You know, you keep looking at me like that and Imma bust a nut."

"Y-YUKI!" Mitsuru screamed his name which nearly deafened the boy just like Kotone did during the best night of their lives.

Makoto thought for a moment before realizing his error, "Oh, my mistake. I meant to say that imma bust _your_ nuts, literally!" He announced before he noticed everyone's horrified faces, "What? I _told_ you it was Makoto appreciation day! Enjoy the glorious mental image!"

The boy took a step back and laughed as everyone was contemplating whether or not they should just knock the boy out now.

Makoto laughed loudly as his balance began to fail again, "I... I... I like blue." He announced before falling onto the floor unconscious revealing Kotone who had her fist reeled back and ready to knock him out herself.

With the boy now out cold, everyone was now left staring at each other uncomfortably.

Mitsuru coughed for a moment before speaking up, "I-I was told that first-time use could affect his behavior, but..." she shook her head, "I hope that today's events do not repeat themselves."

"Right..." Kotone sighed before a pang hit her and she glared at Junpei who now likely had a broken nose, "By the way, he was drugged... We were _not_ doing anything."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Junpei nodded up and down as his leader came extremely close to kicking him where it hurts.

...

...

...

After days off school and adjusting to relying on the pills, Makoto was finally able to walk around the dorm in a semi-normal state. He still had trouble with balancing himself and his concentration was a little off, but he was able to seem like usual self while his mind was in enough of a daze to keep Pharos away.

Today, for whatever reason, Junpei had decided to bring Makoto to his room to see something on his laptop that he just 'had to see'.

The room itself was a mess which one would come to expect from someone like Junpei. On the desk was his laptop, and Makoto sat in the chair with the capped boy by his side just to see how this all plays out.

Makoto pressed play and the video began, "Alright... Okay, so it looks like they're lesbians, so good for them."

The boy sighed and continued gazing at the computer monitor as the video continued, "I... I don't know why you wanted me to watch this."

"Just keep lookin'." Was all Junpei said as he did his best to fight the urge to snicker. Makoto didn't know it yet, but he was going to have to fight the urge to kill Junpei in just a few seconds.

"I-I just don't..." Makoto's sentence was halted as the video continued and he raised an eyebrow, "Wait... Wait a minute... Oh...Oh! OH GOD! OH, WHAT THE HELL!"

The bluenette's screams of confusion were matched only by Junpei's laughter as he continued to watch the boy's horrified face. Not even something as perverted as Pharos would find enjoyment in something like _this._

Makoto gagged as the video continued despite the boy's disgust, "Oh, fuck me... Oh fuck, I don't think I can eat ice cream again... Oh, Christ... Oh, god—" The boy's words were only halted when he regurgitated into his mouth and was forced to painfully swallow the contents that burnt his throat.

After several moments, the video finally came to a close and left Makoto mortified by what he had just witnessed. Never, in all of his seventeen years of existing on this planet, did he ever think that something as wretched as _that_ would ever be thought of, much less created by human hands.

"Why would they do _that_ into a cup?!" Makoto's stomach repeatedly heaved as he slowly stood on his feet and began to walk out of the room as Junpei rolled on the floor in laughter. This was probably his attempt at getting back at him for being so rude for months, or maybe even just a perfect troll opportunity that he couldn't resist.

Either way, Makoto slowly stumbled his way back into the room he had been staying in. After an hour of gagging and throwing up in his mouth only to force himself to swallow it again, the boy found himself looking at the calendar.

A full moon was approaching within just a few days, and he wasn't going to be able to fight it this time.

He had only started killing them because Pharos had asked him to do so, but now Pharos was gone. Instead, his desire stemmed instead from wanting to avoid him losing Kotone just like he lost _her._

He did not know exactly why Pharos wanted those shadows destroyed, and for that matter, neither did the boy in question. SEES wanted them destroyed because of what Ikutsuki said, but how much of that held any truth if any?

Either way, there was nothing he could do now. It was probably hard enough to convince Mitsuru to let him to stay, never mind convincing them to abandon their objective, especially now that his evidence against Ikutsuki was gone with his phone. If he wanted to find it, he was going to have to go back to his apartment and find wherever Pharos hid it.

Makoto sighed as he collapsed onto the bed and the main effect of the pills began kicking in. He knew that he could not keep relying on the pills, especially considering he was going to have to go back to school eventually and right now he was being excused under the guise of illness.

 _Whatever happens, at least we're not alone anymore._ The two selves thought as Makoto closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahahaha!!! Take a guess what video Makoto just saw. It's a real video—you might have heard of it. If you haven't, I don't recommend seeing it.


	49. Chapter 49

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN!

_**Dorm** _

Makoto's mind was still hazy from the pills he had been taking, but he was still able to recognize his surroundings.

Right now, he was in the room had been staying ever since he temporarily moved in with SEES. He was lying on his bed, but rather than use a pillow, he was using something a bit more comfortable.

"You know what today is, right?" Kotone asked as she brushed the hair out of his eyes.

"Mm-hmm," Makoto nodded slowly, "still not happy about it though."

"Come on, I'll be fine," She assured him, still having the smile on her face that he had grown to love over their months together and even more during these past few days, "Even if you're not there, I'm pretty tough, too, yanno?"

"Still…" A loud groan escaped Makoto's lips as he dreaded his current state due to Pharos, "I wish I could do _something_."

"Actually, there's a _big_ thing that only you can do." She said beaming down at him.

Makoto let out a chuckle as he pieced together what she meant, "Love you lots with hugs and kisses?"

"Love me lots with hugs and kisses." Kotone lifted him up slightly and held onto his frame tightly as he rested his head on her shoulder.

Makoto closed his eyes as he felt the effects of the pills begin to kick in a full force. Before he could fall asleep, he nuzzled against her shoulder and took in everything he could; the warmth of her arms, the sound of the quiet humming she made, the feeling of her fingers combing through his hair, even the heartbeat he felt from their close proximity.

Even though they only knew each other for just a few months, it oddly felt as if they had known each other for much longer. Their relationship was just a few weeks old, but their bond made it feel as if it had lasted for much, much longer (some of which was likely due to the complicated months of their relationship).

Oddly enough though, Kotone's link with him had not managed to reach rank ten yet. She's told him things that no one else on this planet knew, he told her about his sister, his real name, and even about the demon/shadow that was inside in him. If that wasn't enough, they had even slept with each other, but there was still _more_ for the link to develop?! It was at this point that Kotone was beginning to wonder if she had managed to break her social link powers or something.

Kotone's eyes glanced at the clock. It was almost time for the Dark Hour and with it, the next full moon operation. It would technically be their first operation without Makoto or Minato, but they fared decently last time, so they probably would not need him now, especially now that they were a lot stronger than they were when this whole thing first started.

"Time for me to get ready," Kotone said as she put the boy down onto the bed, "I'll see you, Blue."

"See you… soon." Makoto barely managed to get out before his consciousness drifted off to sleep.

…

…

…

"Hello," Makoto opened one eye and saw the last person he wanted to see sitting on the edge of his bed, "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

"Fuck off." Makoto was not even going to give Pharos the time of day now. Knowing that he would not be able to sleep now, the boy got out of the bed and stumbled his way out of the room.

Pharos had been mostly silent for the past week now. With the pills clouding Makoto's mind and thus affecting the 'boy' as well, he was unable to interact with the world like he was before. He was, however, still able to appear and interact with Makoto himself as much as he wanted.

When Makoto turned the corner out of the hallway, Pharos was there again, smiling innocently as if nothing had ever happened.

"That's not a good way to greet a friend, you know," Pharos said coyly, making it seem like he was almost mocking him now.

"Neither is throwing them into a wall." Makoto retorted before simply walking through the ghostly boy and descended down the stairs.

There was very little that could infuriate Makoto as much as Pharos could right now. Even after everything he had done to him before, Makoto still befriended him and even loved him like the sibling he lost, but he only stabbed him in the back. Now, he finally found someone else that he cared about and wanted to be with, finally was one good terms with Inheritor, and might have even had something to actually live for. But now, now Pharos wanted to come in and try and ruin it all as he had done before.

The stairs creaked as Makoto stumbled and held onto the rail tightly to avoid falling and breaking his neck or something. Even though the lights in the dorm worked during the Dark Hour, the illumination they gave off was still a bit weaker than usual, so Makoto's eyes were left to adjust to the slight darkness as well.

When he finally reached the bottom of the stairs, Pharos was there sitting on the sofa, his childish behavior and appearance ironically making him seem more unsettling than anything else.

"Tch, leave me alone." Makoto muttered as he walked past the 'boy' and headed to anywhere he could find that Pharos would not instantly teleport to. No matter where he went, Pharos was always going to follow him like the parasite he was.

Much to Makoto's chagrin, Pharos simply reappeared in front of him again, "Oh, but you forget, you've never been alone once in your entire life. I'm always with you."

"Yeah, thanks for the reminder, jackass." Makoto scoffed as he simply turned around. It was still too early to take more of those pills and knock him out again, so he was forced to simply move around trying to get the brat off his mind for now. But alas, that was proving very difficult.

As Makoto was walking past the table in the center of the room, something caught his eye.

 _ **Makoto…**_ Sitting there on the table staring at him was the same mask that he had created the day he killed Ikutsuki, complete with the disturbing smirk that went from ear to ear, the soulless black eyes that seemed to lead to a never-ending abyss and contrasted with the rest of the mask's pure white color.

He had only worn it for maybe a minute or two at most. During that time, he was doing nothing but simply laughing as he satiated his need for vengeance. It was not just some mask, but it was a symbol of everything he was and everything he was going to be.

Makoto was so transfixed on the mask that he did not even notice his legs beginning to move, his motor functions seemingly no longer being impeded by the pill that was still a long way from wearing off fully. His eyes were beginning to glow a dim blue as if reacting to the object in front of them.

Slowly, his hands reached out towards the object and lifted from the table. He could not tell before because his hands were gloved, but now he could feel just how strange it felt. The material of the mask did not feel like anything he had ever felt before and merely holding it for just a few seconds made it feel as if his fingers were about to become ice cubes.

All of Makoto's thoughts just began to disappear along with Minato's shouting that was beginning to become drawn out with nothing. All of his focus was on the mask that was whispering… calling… pulling him to towards it. He had already worn it before, maybe it would not be so bad if—

 _Stop! Makoto, goddammit! Think of Kotone!_ Minato screamed as loud as he could in a desperate effort to snap his other self out of his trance.

 _Kotone..?_ Makoto blinked as he realized that he was holding the mask just a few inches away from his face. As soon as he regained his sense, the bluenette quickly threw it across the room where it impacted with the wall with a loud bang.

Was he… Was that… What just happened?

"I think you've forgotten something, Minato." Makoto turned to see Pharos sitting there, still smiling, "As the year's gone on, I've only gotten stronger. Think about what I'll be able to do next… Or rather, what _yo_ u will do next."

Makoto's vision began to darken before a mass of colors began to swirl around in his vision before taking the form of recognizable shapes and forms.

The place he was seeing was somewhere in the streets of Iwatodai and it looked like it was during the Dark Hour. Also there, littering the streets were the countless bits and pieces of the members of SEES with Yukari having her spine torn out and her head with it, Junpei having all of his limbs dismembered and rolling on the ground in pain, Akihiko having his head completely split in half, Koromaru horribly disfigured by broken bones, Ken hanging on a lamppost, Shinjiro having his chest completely ripped open to expose his lungs and missing heart, Fuuka having been severed in half by the waist, Aigis who was had been reduced to nothing more than a few pieces of scrap and bolts, and Mitsuru who had ice crystals originating from inside her own body which were now sticking out and dyed crimson.

There, standing in the center was Makoto in his Thanatos-esque garb with that twisted mask on his face standing in front of a bloodied Kotone who was hunched over trying to regain her footing and breath.

"Minato… please…" Kotone whimpered out a last plead when she lost all strength and dropped to her knees. After all the fighting, there was no way she could go one anymore. All she could do now was whisper pleads and try to get through to him, "Minato, please… I know you're in there…"

Suddenly, Makoto dashes forward and grabbed her by the throat and lifted her back to her feet.

At almost inhuman speeds, Makoto jabbed her in the ribs as a loud cracking sound pierced the air. Immediately after, Makoto followed it with an uppercut to her jaw with enough force that she lifted slightly into the air.

Before she could even hit the ground, the Dark Prince grabbed her by the shoulders and threw it into a nearby car.

Kotone screamed and another loud cracking sound pierced the silent air as even more of her bones broke upon impact. It was a struggle just for her to breathe, never mind fight. Now, all she could do was pray that Makoto would be able to break free of whatever he was in.

Makoto grabbed the redhead by the collar and looked into her tear-filled eyes, "Minato…"

Not even hesitating for a moment, Makoto slapped her across the face with enough force that blood splattered onto the ground.

Makoto brought his hand to the back of her head before forcing her face-first into the car's window which shattered on impact. Not even giving her time to recover, he reeled her head back and forced her into the next window causing the broken glass to cause several lacerations all over her face.

Reeling her head back one more time, Makoto forced Kotone to hit the hood of the car which left a large, bloody print all over it.

The hooded boy turned her around to look at the bruised, cut, and broken mess of a face that was left on the only other person he ever cared for in his entire life.

Kotone coughed up an entire cup full of blood, "… I love you." She tried one last time to reach out to him. Her breathing was nothing more than soft whimpers and she could feel her broken ribs moving every time she tried desperately to avoid drowning in her own blood, but even then she continued to whisper pleads and declarations of love in the hopes that something would get through to him.

Makoto merely shrugged before tossing her into the street where she landed with a painful thud. There was nothing left of the boy she loved now, and all she could do was cry as the husk that was left raised his hand.

With a snap of his fingers, Kotone was suddenly completely engulfed in fire which caused her to scream loud enough that the entire city would have heard even outside the Dark Hour. The Prince merely watched as the woman he loved rolled on the ground in pain as she died the most painful of deaths until eventually all of the movements simply began to stop and she was reduced to nothing but ashes.

Everything began to swirl into a mass of colors again before Makoto saw that he was in the dorm again.

Makoto was forced to take steps back before his knees failed him and he fell while leaning against the wall.

That was a hallucination… but for how long? He almost gave into the mask's trance just a few seconds ago, and that could have easily led to him doing the very things he had just done.

Because of him, she was in constant danger as long as she was around him. As long as he was here, then she was in constant danger.

Even now, she was in extreme danger. She had taken it upon herself to make sure he wakes up, eats, drinks, and does almost everything because of how much he had to sleep. The entire week she had this aura of paranoia from the constant fear of the pills failing and Pharos lashing out again.

All it would take was one… Just one mistake and he could easily put that thing on and kill her. With how much power he has when he stops holding back, he would be the greatest danger SEES had ever faced before.

If he wanted her to be safe, then there was only one thing that he could do.

…

…

…

Kotone and the rest of SEES came in after a long operation. Shinjiro and Ken had been absent the entire time and Akihiko had decided to go search for them, meanwhile, the rest of them had decided to go home and maybe they would be there.

 _Time to check on Blue._ Kotone thought before climbing the stairs and knocking on her boyfriend's door, "Minato~, are you—"

When the redhead opened the door, she only saw that Makoto/Minato was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was writing on the wall saying, **"He's** _ **mine**_ _ **"**_

"No…" Kotone whispered as she realized what had happened. She never should have left him here alone. The moment he was all by himself, he…

Kotone quickly dashed to the rest of her teammates that hadn't even had time to discard their gear yet before exclaiming, "Guys, he's gone!"

Everyone looked at her before Mitsuru asked, "What?!" First Shinjiro and Ken went missing, and now Makoto was gone too?

"Minato, he's gone!" Kotone repeated, "Look, ask questions later! Fuuka, can you find him?!"

"R-Right away!" Fuuka quickly agreed before summoning her persona. The Dark Hour has not ended yet, so there is no way he could have gotten far in his drugged state, "I… I can't find him! Wait, I sense something… It's Shinjiro-senpai and Ken!"

"What are they doing together?" Junpei asked, have wondered why the two have been absent the entire night like everyone else.

"I don't—" Mitsuru stopped herself as a memory slapped her across the face. She had been distracted by the moon that she had forgotten about something extremely important, "We need to get to them right now!"

"What?!" Kotone questioned at the mere suggestion, "What're you talking about?! What about—"

"Wait, there's… A member of Strega is approaching them!" Fuuka warned everyone which caused everyone's hearts to sink.

…

…

…

Makoto sat quietly in an alley after running as far as he could from the dorm.

This was the only way he could be sure that Kotone would not be harmed by him. If he had stayed there any longer, then he would have put her at much more risk than he was worth.

He had already lost someone dear to his heart ten years ago, and he refused to lose someone like that again. She was the kindest person he had ever met, and he was not going to let her suffer the same fate as his little sister.

Makoto sighed to himself, preparing for the lonely days that awaited him before a loud gunshot echoed throughout the city.

"What the hell..?" Makoto questioned before another pierced the air. The only person who had a gun during the Dark Hour would be Takaya, and the only person who he would target tonight would be…

"Please… be safe." He silently prayed for his lover as he took a few more steps into the shadows. He had to do whatever it took to stay away from her, even if she was the one who was harmed by Takaya.

All he could do now was pray that he had enough strength to resist the pull that the mask and Pharos had on him, and that something would stop him if he failed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehe... hahahahha.... HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!


	50. Chapter 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to all Makotos fans out there...

**_?_ **

The sun slowly began to rise and its rays began to beam on everything within the city to illuminate the dark corners that had existed from the night before. Accompanying the light was also the sun's warmth which slowly began to replace the cold air that had come from its absence.

But there was one place in the city where even the sun's rays could not warm no matter what. Lying there in an alleyway was Makoto Yuki who had passed out from exhausted when he ran from the dorm. He ran for so long that his feet had begun to bleed.

The cold air was persistent where he was, and even while unconscious the boy was left shivering uncontrollably as he felt his own body heat continue to slowly leave him. He knew the risk when he left the dorm and now he was paying the price.

Eventually, the bluenette's eyes began to open and he began to grunt and stand himself up after a long, restless slumber. He was forced to bite his lip and wince in pain when he put his weight back onto his aching and bleeding feet but continued to press on. He couldn't go back to the dorm now, but all the pain he suffered was worth it as long as she was safe… as long as she never ended up like _her._

After what felt like hours of stumbling, Makoto made it to the same place he had escaped from weeks ago. Luckily for him, Pharos remembered to clean up most of the mess he made when Kotone carried him out, so if anyone tried to investigate, it was nothing more than a cold apartment.

When he entered his apartment, the air suddenly felt several degrees colder and the fear of previous events beginning to repeat themselves caused extreme unease and even slightly unsettled the boy's stomach. However, there were still a few things here that he had left that he was going to need.

Makoto shivered as he slowly changed out of the school uniform he had been wearing (the only outfit the dorm had that was in his size), and changed into a turtle-neck sweater with a grey coat over it. The entire city had been getting colder and colder ever since he came here, and now it was getting unbearable even for him. Of course, he was sure to also pick up his headphones and the mp3 player that had been left alone for weeks now.

As he was getting ready to leave, Makoto noticed something sitting on his bedroom desk. Sitting there was nothing other than his phone that had been missing ever since Kotone carried him out.

 _You little bastard…_ Makoto thought as he picked up and pocketed the device. It was like Pharos was taunting him now by giving him what he needed to talk to her no matter where he was, but he knew that he could not, no matter how much he wanted to. He could have left it there, but Pharos likely would have carried it with him anyway.

Throughout the day, Makoto kept to the alleyways and avoided contact with people as much as possible. It was unlikely that Pharos would harm innocent people for no good reason, but it was better safe than sorry. As long as he lived, he was a danger to anyone near him, and as long as Pharos as inside him, he would continue to live.

However, even when he attempted to isolate himself, he was still able to hear the news of a Gekkoukan student having been shot to death. Apparently, last night's victim was Shinjiro who had taken two high-caliber rounds to the torso which caused him to quickly bleed to death. What little chance he may have had of surviving was completely destroyed by the fact that his body had been ravaged by a 'mysterious drug' that had all but destroyed his endocrine system.

In another time and another life, Makoto might have felt bad about what happened to him. But for now, he could only be glad it was not _her,_ and try to do whatever he can to keep himself together.

…

…

…

 _ **Makoto…**_ Makoto who had been curled up into a ball looked up in response to the whisper of his name to find that twisted smirk sitting there to greet him on the opposite end of the alley. Over and over that thing was there to greet him, and over and over he heard his name being whispered. No matter what he did or where he went, the thing would follow him.

Letting out a sigh, Makoto slowly got on his feet and picked the mask up, only to then toss it to the roof of the nearest building. If he could not reach it, then the thing would finally shut up… at least, for a few hours.

With that done, Makoto sat back down and curled back into a ball. There was nothing left for him to do but sit, wait, and pray that he can last.

"It's been a while, huh?"

Makoto's blood turned cold as he slowly turned his head to the direction of the voice, only to be greeted by the last thing he would ever want to see.

The bluenette girl tilter her head and smiled, "How ya doin' Nii-san?"

"No…" Makoto shook his head before burying his face in his legs, "You're not real. You're dead. You've been dead for a long time."

"Well, gee, I wonder whose fault that is." Minako's smile quickly changed into a frown as she looked at her brother, "But I think we both know that, don't we?"

Makoto kept his eyes shut as the memories of that terrible night forced their way into his head again, "I… I didn't mean to…"

"Oh, really..?" Minako asked as she walked in front of her cowering brother who still kept his face hidden, "Last I checked, I'm pretty sure you meant it."

"I was scared, okay?!" Makoto screamed as he looked up into his "sister's" eyes, "I was only seven years old!"

"So was I!" Minako retorted as she quickly dashed quickly towards him until she was face to face with him, her entire body briefly changing into the hellish form that was scarred deep into his brain until the day he died.

"There's not a day that goes by where I don't wish that it wasn't me instead." Makoto admitted as all of the pain that Kotone helped him forget about came flooding back in, "I wish it was me, and I wish I—"

"Shut up!" Minako's voice briefly sounded almost demonic which startled the boy enough that he was rendered speechless, "It doesn't matter what you want, and the fact is that that's not what happened! And now, you're sitting here for the sake of some girl. What? Was she a good lay, is that it?"

There was nothing more painful than hearing this coming from his twin sister. He knew this was not real, but sounded it looked so real that it might as well have been. All he could do was look at her weakly as she continued to glare at him, "T-That's… That's not—"

"Then what, Minato?!" Minako screamed as she grasped him by the shoulders and pushed him back against the wall, "What could possibly make her more important than me?! You've saved her so many times, and where were you that day?!"

"It's… It's not like that!" Makoto tried to explain, "I… I…" try as he might, he was not able to find a way to explain his actions.

"You know, you're right…" Minako said as she finally back off and took a few steps back, "It really should've been you. I hope a bastard like you gets what you deserve." With that, the image of Minato/Makoto's long-dead sister finally faded away, leaving only him just like that very night years ago.

"I'm so sorry…" Makoto whispered as he hanged his head. What happened then was the greatest regret he had in his entire life. If he could, he would be willing to sacrifice everything, even all of his time with Kotone if it meant that she could live in his stead. After all, he was a coward that was less than a dog.

"It's quite sad, truly." Makoto's eyes widened as before he quickly turned his head towards the person he once considered being the only person he ever trusted.

"You little fucking bastard!" Makoto quickly dashed into a full sprint and lunged at the boy, only to then phase right through him and land on the ground.

Pharos slowly shook his head, "Tsk, tsk, shouldn't you have known that wouldn't work?"

"Shut up!" Makoto screamed as he lunged at the boy, again and again, each time going harmlessly through the boy who showed little to no reaction. After what must have been the twentieth time, Pharos yawned.

"I see that you're not in a talking mood. I'll be going now." Pharos said before disappearing once again.

 _ **Then again, I'm never really gone, am I?**_ He whispered into Makoto's ears which only served to infuriate the boy more.

In a fit a violent rage, Makoto strike and kick anything that was around him whether it was a trashcan, dumpster, or even the walls. Such actions caused his already injured feet to swell and his knuckles to become bloodied, but he could not care less.

"Uh, are you alright?" Makoto felt a hand on his shoulder, but his irate state had him unable to think clearly.

Next thing he knows, Makoto found himself hovering over a man whose face had been bloodied to a pulp. Whether he was dead or alive and taking shallow breaths was anyone's guess, as the shocked Makoto could only slowly take a few steps back to process what had happened before running as fast as he could out of the area.

How did… when… What just happened? His heart was racing and he felt the exact same high that he felt when he killed Ikutsuki a month ago. In fact, some part of him wanted him to—

No, he had to stay away from everyone as much as he could.

Pharos was not the one who was a danger to anyone anymore. Now, he was the one that everyone had to be wary of. He had to stay away from everyone for as long as he could, no matter what.

…

…

…

It had now been at least a week since he had left the dorm. Now, his hallucinations were only getting worse and worse. Sometimes it was Kotone being killed, sometimes it was Minako and/or his parents condemning him, and sometimes it was just him being tortured by Thanatos' chains or something.

Sitting in yet another alleyway was Makoto whose hair was now black on the edges and his skin had become grey-ish. He was trying to eat some of the takoyaki that he had bought from a stand with the money had left at his apartment, but it was like his throat was refusing to cooperate with him. No matter how hungry or thirsty he was, his throat just would not budge at all.

Finally, after an entire hour of trying, Makoto finally managed to force himself to swallow something. The boy panted as such a little action felt like it had drained everything from him as the substance slowly made its way down his esophagus and finally into his stomach. Just then, he felt his insides churn.

Makoto barely had time to process what was happening before he felt his stomach twist and turn until he was forced to regurgitate all of its contents out onto the alleyway's floor. Everything he managed to swallow and more was now all for nothing.

The boy could only pant as he got as far from the pool of his own bile before collapsing onto the ground in exhaustion. He was already drained before, and now he was slowly beginning to have his body break apart. Pharos would not let him die of starvation, but that did not mean that starving was painless.

"She's not coming, you know," Pharos whispered as he stood above the boy.

"Fuck… you." Makoto whispered, the muscles in his throat barely had enough strength to even talk coherent sentences anymore which was only made worse from the burning sensation that was now present in his throat.

"Even if she does look for you, you know what'll happen." Pharos reminded him as the boy beneath him continued to pant heavily. It would not take too much longer now. After all, he knew exactly where his friend's pressure points were.

"Leave… me… alone." Makoto wheezed, unwilling to listen to Pharos anymore. He could not harm the boy in any way, so all he could do was ignore him until he went away.

"Tch, you're never alone." Pharos scoffed before disappearing again, leaving only Makoto in the alleyway again.

Makoto finally regained enough of his breath to stop panting, but he was too exhausted to move a muscle. It felt as if his body was slowly beginning to degrade and die; only something was trapping and preventing his soul from leaving his body.

Left unable to move, Makoto could only lie there as the day slowly progressed. He could only listen as the day of everyone else in the city carried on as usual, unaware of the boy's predicament and how the lives of so many people could depend on it.

Makoto could only remain there silent as his hallucinations took hold and that dreaded mask continued to call out to him. If could kill himself, he would have done so a long time ago if it meant that all of this could finally end. Alas, that was another thing that was nothing short of impossible. He could do nothing but try to keep his mind from falling apart like his body.

The only thing that occupied his mind was the feeling of hunger that was quickly building in his stomach, especially after he regurgitated everything. His throat burned and now he could feel it beginning to dry, the whole world was beginning to swirl around him, and his head was beginning to ache. If it were not for Pharos ironically enough, he probably would have died a long time ago from all of this.

All he could do now was sit, wait, and silently pray.

…

…

…

Makoto had lost track of the number of days that had passed now. It had probably been maybe two weeks or perhaps a week and a half since he left the dorm now, he was not too sure. What little motor functions he had now were next to worthless as his body constantly trembled and any actual voluntary movement would take out everything he had and caused him to pass out from exhaustion.

His hair was now completely black and black veins had begun to appear to contrast with the boy's pale skin. He could barely see anything now with his tired eyes that were now constantly glowing a dim blue involuntarily. Around his eyes were dark patches that were beginning to form almost as if it was mimicking the same mask that was still taunting him.

 _ **Makoto…**_ It continued to whisper, its promises to make this all end were becoming more and more tempting by the second. Funnily enough, all of his ailments quickly went away the moment he tried either move towards or touched the mask and immediately returned when he tossed it away again.

He could barely even feel his own heart pounding in his chest and each of his breaths were labored and slow. His muscles had degraded from the lack of use and starvation leaving him extremely thin. Whenever he tried to look at his watch or phone, his eyes could not quite focus properly. No matter how hard he tried, he could not make out whatever the devices were trying to show him. Not that it would mean anything as the entire world continued to swirl around him.

The only thing he could see now was the hallucinations that he was forced to endure over and over. The frequency of these little trips to hell was becoming more and more frequent, as well as much clearer than before. No matter what he did, he could never escape the nightmares that continued to show themselves to him over and over whenever the boy was awake.

Whenever he was asleep, he was plagued by the same nightmares that have haunted him throughout the past ten years of his life. No matter what he did, there was no escape from this hell.

"Minako…" He whispered his long-dead sister's name, his mind becoming so addled that his speech was no restricted to merely calling out to his sister.

If anyone were to look upon him now, they would be horrified to see everything that had been done to him. His anger towards Pharos had almost completely quelled now, unable to sustain itself through all the mental pain that Makoto was in now.

The boy's body was practically dead at this point. His skin had gone grey and his eyes had drifted off to the side, rarely doing something as basic as blinking. If it were not for his chest slowing rising, one could easily assume that he was dead.

One would likely wonder where Minato was in all of this, but no one would be able to give a definite answer. Perhaps Pharos had finally gained enough strength to suppress him. Perhaps the mask's presence was so seductive that it was keeping Makoto anchored. Whatever the reason, it was all the same.

For now, all that was left was a hollow husk of the boy, "Minako…"

…

…

…

Makoto remained in the same alleyway that he had been left to rot in for the past few days. Rot was indeed the correct word as the stench of death littered the area, though the boy's sense of smell had left him a long time ago now.

His eyes had changed from glowing a dim blue to a bright yellow. Adding to his inhuman appearance was the dark patches around his eyes had now gone completely black and the black veins that littered his body now pulsated which caused them to glow a dark purple.

By all means, the boy had changed into a monster.

The boy continued to wheeze as he silently watched the world continue around him. Everything he saw was a blurry mess, but he was able to make out some details of what was going on out there. He was even able to spot a few people from school…

… Including a redhead with her hair tied in high-ponytail.

"Kotone…" Makoto called out as loud as he could, only to have it come out as nothing more than a silent whisper. In that instant, the boy felt his body dragged further into the darkness as he continued to watch the girl as best he could.

Even after all the time that has past, here she was scanning the crowd to try and find him. Whether she fell for him because she loved broken things like him or some other reason he will never understand, she was still willing to look for him now even with the next full moon drawing closer and closer. She needed to prepare, but here she was.

When she came close to the alley that the boy was his, he reached out as far as he could and whispered, "Kotone…" but his voice was still far too weak to be heard.

After a few moments of scanning the area, Kotone muttered a series of curses as she marked today as another failure with absolutely no leads.

"Kotone…" He called out her name once again, even though he knew that he would not be heard.

_Help me…_

…

…

…

Makoto's eyes slowly opened as the cursed hour that came every night began to settle like it had so many times before.

However, now, for the first time in weeks, he was finally able to move his limbs voluntarily. The boy's fingers began to slowly twitch before he slowly began to stand back up on his feet and finally use his now stiffened muscles.

With his ability to move his once again, Makoto slowly began to walk out of the alleyway and was able to get a good look of the street for the first time in what felt like eons.

He did not have to suffer alone anymore.

Now that he could move, he could bring himself back to the dorm and promise never to leave again. He could take those pills again to keep Pharos suppressed while being comforted by Kotone's warm embrace. Perhaps he can reveal everything to Mitsuru and Aigis, and they would be able to rip Pharos out of him.

Makoto took a deep breath as he took a step forward… in the opposite direction.

Something… Something else was there… calling to him… something that he had to answer.

_**Makoto…** _

…

…

…

Makoto began to slowly wander the halls of the giant tower; his mind still cloudy and unfocused like before.

All of the shadows in the halls simply watched from the side. They were not cowering in fear; rather they seemed to be welcoming him as if he were royalty.

"I must admit, I was wrong…" Makoto heard The Reaper say as he slowly made his way past him, "I had thought before that you were a cancer to Death. But now I see, you were never truly his incarcerator…"

Makoto continued to walk through the dark halls; his injured feet were once again beginning to bleed once again.

As he wandered, several thoughts began to invade his addled mind. Pain… He was in so much mental and physical pain.

Pain…

Pain…

Pain…

It followed him wherever he went. It was the one thing that never left him no matter what. Whether it was in his dreams or in his everyday life, the pain would continue to persist.

So much pain… was it not natural for those to seek vengeance on those that harmed them?

Vengeance…

Vengeance…

Vengeance…

Makoto's legs finally gave out from exhaustion and he fell to his knees.

"You are his avatar."

Makoto looked up and saw a familiar object sitting there to greet him.

_**Makoto…** _

...

…

…

Kotone sighed as she looked out the window in the dorm's lounge. Even though it was the Dark Hour, everyone gathered in the same room.

Even though he had not done much to win them over, Makoto being missing was still affecting them all with their leader's normally high morale being some of the lowest it has ever been. It was not just the fact that her boyfriend was missing, but also that it was her responsibility to make sure nothing bad happened to him while he was at the dorm.

Mitsuru sighed as she looked at Fuuka, "Anything, Yamagishi?"

Fuuka slowly shook her head, "I couldn't find him anywhere. It was like he completely disappeared." She answered somberly.

"I see." Mitsuru said as she put her head down. If a shadow really was sealed inside him, then it was her family's fault if he was suffering right now. Regardless of her personal opinions of the boy, he was still a victim of the Kirijo group.

Kotone sighed as she felt her eyes beginning to become heavy. It had been a long night, it was time for her and everyone else to finally—

Suddenly, the ground began to shake beneath their feet as a deafening roar began to pierce the air. The roar was so loud that everyone immediately covered their ears as the lights that worked in the Dark Hour began to flicker and a few of the windows began to shatter into pieces.

After several minutes, the roaring finally stopped and whatever glass was left from the windows was quickly frosting over as if it were the middle of winter. SEES began to talk amongst themselves about what had just happened, that chill in the air could only mean one thing to Kotone…

Makoto walked out of Tartarus with Thanatos behind him and the mask on his face. Nothing was going to get in his way now.

Kotone panted as her mind and body reeled from the insane shout and the added exhaustion. She ignored the orders of her seniors and ran out of the dorm one more time, her half-lidded eyes desperataly scanning the area for Makoto one last time-

"H-Hey!" Kotone yelled as loud as she could, as loud as her drained senses could manage. "Minato!"

"Vengeance..." Makoto repeated inside his head as he lumbered his way forward, aimlessly walking around as Pharos further steeled his resolve-

"Minato!" Kotone tried one more time, taking a step forward despite knowing that the being who screamed just a few moments ago could very well attack her and take her life. "I know you are out there!"

"They will pay," Pharos whispered, pleased when Makoto did not explode at him in fury as he did before-

"I refuse to believe that you are gone!" Kotone continued-

"They must..." Pharos continued-

"I'll find you," Kotone promised. "I will drag you back to myself from hell itself if I have to."

Makoto cracked his neck and exhaled, giving a dumb nod to Pharos who kept talking, edging him, and reminding him of why he was born.

"You were engineered for one purpose," Pharos reminded-

"I'll get rid of that little bastard that has been haunting you," Kotone reminded herself-

"That is to claim vengeance and dispose of everyone who stands in your way-"

"He is going to pay!"

"THEY are going to pay!"

"Remember,"

"Always remember,"

"Never forget about us,"

"Never forget about me,"

"Minato..."

"Minato..."

Makoto hissed in pain, his knees giving out at the exact same time as Kotone who finally reached the limit of exhaustion and collapsed down, face first, akin to the prince who lost his senses due to the nonstop torture and fell to the ground, his 'friend' looming over him with a satisfied smile because Makoto was ready. This was going to be a joy to witness-

"Don't worry, I'll save you..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this all went well, eh?
> 
> Pharos wasn't originally supposed to go Yandere. Makoto was originally supposed to have a breakdown due to split loyalties and being haunted by his past, but I couldn't find a good trigger that'd cause him to snap... so we have this. Fun!


	51. Chapter 51

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, time to do a little bit of canon derailment... oh wait, I already did some.

_**Streets** _

"Ngh..." Kotone grunted as she attempted to lift herself back onto her feet. She had spent so many days and nights looking; it must have taken more out of her than she thought if she was this exhausted already.

Her body shook and screamed at her as she tried to force herself up. "I… I won't let you…" Just as she managed to sit up on one knee, she quickly fell back to the ground again.

Even after falling for a second time, Kotone tried to force herself up again. "Minato…" She called out his name before all of the weariness finally took its toll and rendered her unconscious on the spot.

It did not take long her comrades to find her unconscious self, lying there on the side of the cold street under the moonlight. Like moths to a flame, the members of SEES began to surround their leader, checking for any signs that she may have been injured or ill.

"I don't sense any injuries," Fuuka reported after scanning with her new persona, Juno, "I think she just passed out from exhaustion."

"Thank goodness," Mitsuru sighed in relief that SEES was not about to suffer another causality as they had with Shinjiro just a few weeks ago. "Akihiko, can you carry her back to the dorm?"

The boxer nodded without complaint, "Yeah, sure thing," He agreed before looking back at his kohai and sighing, "I don't know how she's going to feel when she wakes up though."

"Why did she just run out..?" Ken thought out loud for everyone else to hear.

The moment the horrible screeching sound ended and most of the windows shattered, she ran out of the dorm at full speed until she passed out. What on Earth could have caused her to do such a thing? Whatever it was, it was definitely connected to the Dark Hour in some way, so that left—

"Wait, do you think that was _him?!_ " Yukari asked which made everyone's eyes widen at the mere mention of the idea.

"Could it have been…?" Mitsuru's voice trailed off as the thought began to seem more and more plausible. He had already had a shadow inside him for ten years, and now the shadow was beginning to act violently. With him being all by himself for the past few weeks —especially with that thing as agitated as it was— then the likelihood of that being Makoto was—

God, what happened to him?

* * *

_**Dorm** _

Everyone sighed after a confusing night that followed the exhausting weeks that were both physically and mentally taxing for SEES. As if dealing with the loss of Shinjiro was not enough, they were also forced to deal with the fact they were the ones who had left Makoto all by himself even with the knowledge that a shadow/demon was forced inside him.

However, no matter where they looked, Makoto just seemed to drop off the face of the Earth. To make matters worse, the full moon was beginning to approach and their morale was the lowest it has ever been.

The biggest victim to this was ironically the same person who normally had the highest spirits of anyone else in the dorm. Even if their relationship itself was short, her bond with him had developed over the course of the past months. He was the only one who she felt she could confide in despite all of her friends, and she was the only one he ever shared anything with.

Apart from Kotone, even SEES was actually starting to find themselves missing Makoto in a way. Sure, he was often rude to them during the past few months, but that did not mean that during he spent the week he was there that he did not show some of his more friendly side usually reserved for Kotone.

While he was not the most interested or active person (especially when on the pills), he still spent some of his time with Junpei, the same person who he claimed annoyed him to no end. While they certainly were not what you would call best friends, their interactions were enough that they would at least be in the same room without the danger of Makoto punching the capped boy in the face.

Heck, he even started talking to Mitsuru like he would a normal person rather than with a condescending attitude. Despite knowing that Kirijo caused everything and it would be reasonable to blame them for even the shadow being sealed inside him, he still began to treat her with respect despite all of the years he must have suffered from that thing alone. It was for this reason that Mitsuru was still pushing to find him; he was a victim of the Kirijo group and he should not be left to suffer as he did before.

Even Aigis' hostility towards him waned during the duration of his stay. Her current theory as to why she sensed a dangerous aura from him was due to the shadow inside him, something that was supported by the fact the danger she sensed from him also waned. Curiously enough, the small amount of the shadow's aura he still possessed actually made her systems tell her to _protect_ him for some curious reason. This may have been confusing for her, but she did know one thing: they had to find Makoto.

* * *

_**?** _

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Makoto turned his head towards the leaking pipes of the building he was in that constantly dropping small droplets of water into a small puddle that had formed beneath it. The building was shoddily made and maintained, but it was still suitable for someplace for him to rest for now.

After a few seconds of listening to the steady dripping of water, Makoto silently pulled his hood down lower before tilting his masked face back towards the window. All he had to do was remain here until the Dark Hour, and then everything would finally come to its end.

"Almost…" Pharos, who was standing beside his 'friend' said, "Just a few more hours, and it will all be over."

Makoto's fist slowly began to clench as all of the memories flooded his ruined mind. So much pain… So much fire… So much death…

"They are all going to die tonight," Pharos assured him. "The failures, the puppet, and, of course, the Shepard and her flock are all going to meet their end tonight."

Makoto's heart began to pump violently as his excitement grew and the cursed images were quickly replaced by the soon-to-be fates of all of those that wrong him and those connected to them.

In the center of those images, was the same redheaded girl who caused him to lose his focus. She was the center of it all… And she was going to pay dearly.

"This is the purpose you have given yourself, remember?" Pharos asked as Makoto began to silently hiss and growl as his anger soared. They were all going to die…

All…

Of...

Them…

Must…

Die…

* * *

_**Dorm** _

Kotone's crimson red eyes slowly began to reveal themselves as she awoke from a deep slumber. Her body still ached in several places from all of the walking around she had been doing for the past month now, and yet, she had still managed to come out with nothing.

Kotone lifted herself up and looked down to the ground and sighed. All of this going on after the death of one of her comrades, and both occurred on the same day no less.

"I'm sorry…," She whispered as droplets began to fall onto her hands.

She was a failure.

She failed as a leader when Shinjiro died on the full moon.

She failed as a lover and a protector when Makoto was driven out because of Pharos on that same day.

She had seen how much pain Pharos was capable of inflicting on Makoto, so now she could only imagine what he was now that he had most of the month to himself now.

Shaking her head, Kotone silently made her way to the girls' bathroom and got into the shower.

Kotone endured the blast of cold water and exhaled, running a hand through her auburn hair and swiping some of it out of her eyes. Her shoulders slumped and she looked down, welcoming the chill and not even bothering to switch the water to warm. She needed something to numb her for a bit because every day, she was plagued with one horrifying question.

Was he even alive?

"D-Dammit," Kotone hacked out, lowering the showerhead and pressing her forehead against the cold tile. She bashed her knuckles a few time and her lower lip started quivering, hot tears running down her face and mixing in with the cold water. "I just want to see him again."

Just one time… It had been weeks since she last saw him and she cursed herself, banged her head against the wall because she was so stupid. How could she leave him alone despite knowing that he had a malevolent shadow bound to him?

"Please, please…," She silently begged as she placed her forehead against the hard tile wall. "Please, don't die on me."

It was poetic in a way. Her mother once abandoned both her and her father, and now she abandoned the one she loved when he needed her most. She had no idea where her mother was and in the coming few months, Kotone was sure she would be lost herself because as of right now, she didn't know where to go, what to do, where she smashed her head, where to take her own miserable life because she was no different.

She was not just a failure, but she is also just like her dear mother before her. The only thing that she was good for was leaving good memories to become extremely painful later on. Kotone sobbed some more and finally slumped down, banging her head onto the tiled ground and screaming out loud as she started pounding her knuckles against the floor, bloodying the marble white without a concern in the world. She cursed at the top of her lungs and heart, cursed her mother, cursed that damn shadow, and cursed her own pathetic self for allowing this hell to take over her life.

"Minato," She whispered his name one more time. "I promise, I will find you."

* * *

_**?** _

Takaya and Jin walked side by side as they walked to the new address that had been given on their website. Their missions had grown much more difficult without Chidori, but nonetheless, they were still more than capable of operating their 'business.'

"Hmm, it appears this would be the location," Takaya said as he pulled his revolver out of his belt and approached the building. It was an ordinary job of simply harming someone in the means of revenge, so all it would take would be a few—

**CRASH!**

The moment the members of Strega got close to the door, it was suddenly ripped off its hinges as both it and they were pushed back by an invisible force.

" _ **What's wrong?"**_ Makoto slowly walked out of the build with Pharos speaking through his mask, _**"Were you expecting someone else?"**_

Takaya's eyes widened in surprise at Makoto's appearance (in both senses) before he regained his calm demeanor. "Ah, I see that—"

Makoto let out a loud, deafening shriek as he jumped high into the air before launching himself forward where Takaya was stand. He did not even bother to arm himself; he was not going to need anything to deal with them.

Caught off guard once again, both members of Strega leapt in the opposite sides of each other. This caused Makoto to miss them both and the concrete below to crumble under the pressure of the boy's landing.

Rather than taking a second to refocus, Makoto's attention snapped to the right where Jin was before he took off in a full sprint.

By the time Jin realized what was going on; Makoto had already gotten a firm hold on his left arm.

Not hesitating for a second, Makoto hit the boy's elbow hard enough that a loud crack could be heard.

Barely even giving Jin time to scream, Makoto reached for and pulled all of the visible pins on his sack of grenades before launching the boy's entire boy at his companion.

Jin barely made it halfway between them before his pouch of grenades exploded causing him to be blown to pieces.

Takaya took a step back in shock as his comrade's killer continued to eye him with that mask of his still on his face.

" _ **Oh, Takaya…,"**_ Pharos called out the man's name. _**"I hope you've said your prayers."**_

Like flipping a switch, Makoto suddenly took off in another full sprint as he quickly closed the difference between him in Takaya.

Impressively, the man managed to get a shot off which did nothing but bounce off the mask. Hypnos even managed to appear long enough to retaliate with an inferno that incinerated the boy's flesh, but that did nothing to stop the monster that the boy had become.

Makoto reached out with one hand and grabbed Takaya by the throat, quickly throwing him against the nearest car.

Not waiting for a second for him to get his wind back, Makoto forcibly shoved his thumbs into Takaya's eye sockets as the high he felt when he killed Ikutsuki began to return, stronger than ever. They were but mere thorns in his side, but yet they filled him so much glee that he was laughing at the pain and death he had wrought.

"M-M-Makoto-kun…?"

Upon hearing the name, Makoto quickly ended Takaya's life and torment by quickly turn his head and causing a loud and satisfying snap to echo throughout the streets.

Of course, Strega's demise also served the purpose of leaving Makoto with a source of entertainment until Fuuka tracked their location down and brought everyone else.

To his dismay, the puppet that had nearly killed him was not currently present, but that was not what mattered.

What did matter was that Fuuka had brought all of her friends out to play, especially the one with auburn hair and crimson eyes?

Upon noticing the members of SEES, Makoto let out a war cry that startled everyone, especially Kotone who tried to reach out, his name rolling off her tongue as she called out to him-

Makoto bulldozed his way through the teenagers and lunged at Kotone who widened her eyes and barely avoided his lunging punch by hopping backward. She was startled by the speed, the pressure behind the missed shot but most of all; she was surprised that Makoto threw a punch in her direction with the intention to kill-

"H-Hey, Minato!" she yelled out loud and immediately regretted it as the transformed persona user broke into a run for her again, hands reaching to grab a hold of her and break her bones. Kotone saw it coming and managed to dodge the initial burst, still shouting his name as she tried to bring some sense back into him-

Makoto's punch grazed her cheek and Kotone stopped dead in her tracks, open to the straight punch that collided against her forehead, blowing her backwards as the other persona users started running because the battle was on. Meanwhile, Kotone paid no attention to the little gash and kept her stare on Makoto as she landed with a thud, her red eyes widened with confusion and grief.

"W-What can I do!?"

"H-Hey, dude," Junpei tried to talk but the hostile vibe that Makoto gave off made it very clear that he was not going to talk or negotiate. "What is wrong with him?"

Was that really Makoto? He just seemed so different...

"M-Minato!" Kotone stood up, still having trouble wrapping her head around the idea that Makoto had thrown a punch to knock her out. "It's me, Kotone. Don't you remember?"

Makoto only roared back in response, the booming shout causing a good deal of discomfort to the members of SEES but Kotone was still not through. She yelled loud enough to match his tone, begging him to come back to his senses because there was no way she was going to battle him.

No chance.

"P-Prepare for battle," Mitsuru winced when she gave the order. Deep down, she knew that her family was responsible for this and now she was forced to battle and hurt a victim of her grandfather's crazy delusion.

The teenagers were clearly not in the right state to battle but they moved forward. Junpei and Akihiko hurriedly came in front of Kotone who was still standing at the same spot, her gaze locked with Makoto's.

"Wake up!"

Makoto snarled back in return and Pharos chuckled in the back of his head, faintly, pleased with how the event was playing out. Makoto was indeed ready.

 _ **Kill that girl...**_ Pharos whispered-

Kotone stepped back and gasped, an involuntary shiver passing down her backbone when Makoto took aim for her.

"No..."

_**Kill her!** _

"Wake up!"

Makoto shrugged off Kotone's pleading and listened to Pharos, letting out another war cry that was mainly directed towards Kotone and Mitsuru, promising both of them pain for what they had done. The others grabbed a hold of their weapons and circled around the deranged teenager who was rocking back and forth, eyeing his prey, one by one by one until his gaze returned back to a petrified Kotone and he took off running to fulfill his destiny.

"MINATO!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here's where I started calling for backup. I might have mentioned that I had a co-author before? Well, if you look closely from here on until the "end" of the arc, the writing style starts shifting. Anon was a lot better at fight scenes that I was/am. Hell, he wrote that shower scene with Kotone.
> 
> Also, yay! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! DEATH! DEATH! DEATH!
> 
> I'm not okay.


	52. Chapter 52

_**Streets** _

Like Mitsuru had ordered, the brawlers of the team quickly crowded Makoto, swinging with their weapons and fists but holding back just a little, hoping to knock him out and not kill him. Makoto growled at their attempts and started dodging most of the incoming shots, moving his body back and forth to slip and parry.

Kotone barely got to her feet and bit her lip as the two sides clashed, Akihiko, Aigis, Junpei and Mitsuru against just Makoto who was fighting alone, getting grazed and clipped a bunch of times, with minimum impact and force but even that made her cringe, shut her eyes in denial. Even if his appearance had drastically changed, Kotone knew for sure that the one caught in the middle of the flurry of attacks was her beloved.

Makoto roared when a punch landed on the side of his temple and Pharos told him to switch his tactics and the mentally broken body obliged, letting out another shout before he starting retaliating, using his superior speed and reflexes to time their shots and counter with brutal shots, sending the members of SEES crashing to the ground.

"Kotone!" Yukari shouted, shooting a flurry of arrows and then hopping back to avoid the bolt of electricity. "Do something!"

"Kotone…" Makoto managed to listen and Pharos ordered him again, yelling at him to attack the girl and he did so, running towards her with another scream that rocked her senses.

"Minato!" Kotone yelled back, getting caught square in the face with a punch as her pleas fell on deaf ears. She caught his legs moving and jumped over the swipe before going back to the defensive, barely dodging his continuous flurry of punches and charges. "W-Wake up!"

Makoto caught her slipping and knocked her down to the ground with a shot to the side of her cheek. Kotone landed with a thud and looked up, eyes staring at her boyfriend who looked ready to stomp the life out of her.

"Get off her!"

Junpei and Akihiko tackled him away at the last second but Makoto pushed himself off and rolled with their shots until he kicked Akihiko into a nearby rock and grabbed Junpei by the throat, looking to choke the life out of him until he heard a click.

Aigis pointed her guns at Makoto and gritted her teeth.

"No!" Kotone stood up, yelling helplessly. "Don't do it! Don't shoot him!"

Aigis locked onto his limbs and fired her bullets in rapid succession, getting a growl out of Makoto who shocked her by running forward, in the face of her bullets to close the distance. Aigis withdrew her guns and blocked his punch, catching his fist in her palm and balling her other hand to knock him out for the time being.

Makoto roared again and started overpowering the massively strong android, forcing her to the ground and smashing his knee to the side of her temple with a sickening crack of metal. Aigis pushed herself off the ground and grabbed onto his frame, aiming to take him down and hold him down as she did not wish to hurt him too much.

Makoto overwhelmed her with his brute strength, the markings on his face flashing as he picked her off the ground and slammed the back of her head onto a bunch of nearby rocks.

"Yuki!" Mitsuru yelled at him and Makoto listened, slowly turning his head towards the bitch that had ruined his life. She hissed at the carnage he had caused and moved forward. "Stop this right now!"

 _ **Kill her…**_ Pharos ordered.

Makoto roared out loud and punched the ground before he took off, summoning a sword half-way during his run and then running straight into Mitsuru, occasioning the cracking of bones from the heiress who cringed in pain and pulled back, clutching her evoker to her head.

"Persona!"

Makoto unleashed a burst of dark energy in response to her summoning and the force crashed into her persona, tearing a hole through the body of the entity and Mitsuru felt the burn, leaving her open to Makoto's wild swing which opened up a wound on her shoulder.

Mitsuru composed herself just in time to save herself from the next wave of slashes, barely avoiding damage to her vital parts and Makoto—still fueled by his vengeance and Pharos—never stopped hunting for her head. The heiress struggled with her breath, collapsing down after a punch into her gut.

"Minato!" Kotone finally regained her wits and shoved him away from Mitsuru, clinging onto him and yelling in his face but to her horror, she saw nothing in his eyes, making her wonder if this was really Makoto. "What are you doing!?"

Makoto screamed in her face, draining the color from her cheek and eyes.

Makoto dug his fist into her stomach and picked her off the ground, his hand gripping her shoulder and knee as the redhead struggled to break free, still yelling at him to wake up.

"Grrr!" Makoto saw the rest of the team charging at him and he flung Kotone into them. Most of them took the fall but a few of them dodged and resumed their run, looking much more pissed off than before.

Makoto gripped his sword and met them in the middle, swinging wildly with no technique or thought as he wanted to get the battle overdone as quickly as possible because Pharos demanded it. Akihiko and Junpei were able to evade the swings thanks to his sloppy technique but they weren't able to block the punches that followed the blades.

Makoto drilled his fists into their bodies and even smiled at their screams, knocking them to the side to take care of the next wave of worthless persona users who were all going to die because they were fighting to protect the Kirijo bitch. Aigis, Ken and Yukari offered no resistance whatsoever, getting beat up by the deranged teenager who was barely held back from Kotone and Mitsuru.

"Kotone," Mitsuru said, grunting in pain because his punches were the hardest she had ever felt. "You have to do something."

Makoto roared from a few yards away and easily annihilated their puny personas, scattering the entities to smoke and dust with repeated dark and magic attacks. He made another run for the two females but the rest held him back, but only barely.

Makoto locked his gaze on Kotone and clenched his fist as he held his gaze with a pleading look in her eyes.

"D-Die…"

"Do something!" Mitsuru yelled when Makoto finally broke free and made a mad dash to take their lives. "You are our leader. Get up and fight. Knock some sense into him because only you can."

Kotone never stopped shaking and just hung her head, noticed that her hands and arms were trembling at the mere thought of hurting Makoto. "I-I can't…"

Pharos was delighted to see her already broken and done with the battle. The ace of the team was not going to raise her blade in front of Makoto and that sealed the victory for him. Tonight was going to be the last night for the stupid group and he was looking forward to breaking her down, even more, looking forward to the extent of her screams and pleading while his best friend took her life with his bare hands.

 _ **Kill them. Slaughter them. Ravage them.**_ Makoto growled as he caught everyone off guard by suddenly jumping back before the winds suddenly launched him into the air, eclipsing the moon itself as he wound up his blade.

In the blink of an eye, Makoto swung his sword and a sudden gust of winds launched everyone back and caused them hit the ground with a very hard thud.

With everything that had been holding him back knocked down, Makoto safely landed with his sword on his shoulder and in a crawling position.

A loud growling sound could be heard by everyone as the prince suddenly dashed forward, crawling with his sword in one hand like an animal with his eyes set on the heiress and the girl that caused him to become what he is now.

"Minato—" Kotone called out to him again, but calling him by his real name seemed to only agitate him more as he moved even faster, closing the distance between them almost in the blink of an eye before jumping into the air and briefly curling into a ball before he slammed his sword down.

"Move," Mitsuru screamed as she pushed through her cracked and fracture boned and grabbed Kotone's shoulder and moved her just in time before the sword could land causing the ground to crumble beneath the massive amounts of kinetic force before a surge of dark energy that had been saved inside the blade caused the same spot to explode.

"Grrr…" Makoto growled as he slowly turned his head and began to move, but something was wrong with his arm. He was not holding the blade right; he was merely dragging it around as blood gushed from his arm that did not seem to be positioned right.

"Did… Did he..?" Kotone's heart sank as a horrible realization hit her. He had used so much force that he actually broke his own arm, and all of that force was supposed to be directed at _her._

A crackling and popping sound could be heard as his arm began to move unnaturally and even more blood came bursting out in massive quantities. The team could only watch as the bone continued to crack and crumble as it tore through the boy's flesh to position itself correctly before all of the muscle began to return to its proper place as well.

Just what _was_ he?!

"Minato, please," All Kotone could do was beg as the boy continued to move towards her and a mass of dark energy began to accumulate on his sword again, "Wake up."

"Kotone…" He repeated her name as he suddenly stopped walking and put his head down for a moment.

Kotone's eyes widened; was she finally getting to him? "Yes, it's me! Don't you remember?!" She continued to try desperately to reach out to him, "Remember what we promised? Even with after everything, even with the thing inside you, you still wanted me in your life! You even ignored everything he told you to do! You…" She bit her lip as she hoped that this was getting to him, "Y-You even told me about your sister and let me spend the night with you, even though that thing told you not to!"

"Kotone," Makoto slowly raised his head as the soulless, dark spots where the eyes were supposed to be were beginning to emit a dull white light in the center that constantly flickered. It was then that one thing was made clear; everything that she had just said just made him want to kill her even more.

Makoto was about to dash forward before he felt a stabbing pain in his thigh. He looked to see that Yukari and the rest of the team had recovered, the former of which shot him with an arrow.

Narrowing his eyes beneath the mask, the boy waited as Junpei, Aigis, and Akihiko charged at him again. As soon as they were about halfway to him, he dashed forward at speeds surpassing even Aigis' when she was in Orgia mode.

Makoto ran to the members of SEES, but rather than fight, he jumped into the air and placed his foot on one of them to launch him even higher, his eyes still focused on the archer who was simultaneously the main healer.

Yukari's eyes widened in horror as the boy descended towards her with pure murderous intent. The image scarred itself onto her brain as the realization that this was going to be the last thing she saw before she died.

Just at the last moment, Ken dashed to Yukari's side and chucked his spear forward as quickly as he could, the end of it piercing through Makoto's stomach which made him scream and hiss in pain as he hit the ground with the spear still lodged inside him.

Makoto grunted as he grabbed the spear and tore through his own flesh to get the weapon out of him and broke it in half. Growling like an animal, the prince glared at the petrified elementary student, ready to tear him apart for what he had just done.

Suddenly, Makoto was forced to hunch over as a sudden weight impacted with his back and something dug into his shoulder. Growling and hissing, Makoto reached behind him while turning his entire body, his feral instincts making everything much harder as the pain in his shoulder increased.

Finally, he was able to grab a hold of something on his back as threw the entire thing to the ground in front of him revealing itself to be Koromaru.

Makoto did not even waste time thinking about the canine he once had a form of respect for before kicking it towards Ken causing both to let out a yelp in pain.

Realizing that the front line members of SEES began to approach him, Makoto quickly dashed towards Yukari who was trying to get away. Grabbing her by the throat, Makoto briefly began to choke the life out of her to entice SEES to get closer and closer; he was completely numb to the pink archer digging her nails into his arms and the tears falling down her cheeks from the pain she was in.

A few seconds later, SEES was right where he wanted them. Throwing Yukari to the floor, he kicked her in the stomach just like he had done with Koromaru, only this time he also launched himself into the air behind her.

Yukari did not even have the breath to scream as she impacted with and knocked down Akihiko which was followed by Makoto landed on both of them. Taking advantage of Akihiko being pinned, Makoto proceeded to repeatedly punch his face in rapid succession, causing his blood to splatter and his face to turn black and blue.

Junpei tried to attack, but even in a feral state, Makoto was easily able to deal with him. All it took at intercepting one attack with his sword to causing Junpei to stumble and a solid punch to the face amplified by a mini-explosion of dark energy to take care of him.

Makoto moved at unnatural speed when Aigis began her assault. Despite being faster than almost any human and activating Orgia mode, he was still able to not only match but surpass her in speed so that she could not land a single blow.

Makoto jumped back and despite the mask concealing his true eyes beneath, he seemed to be glaring. _**"Hello, Aigis,"**_ A voice spoke. _**"Do you remember us, because we have not forgotten about you."**_

"What?" Aigis stopped moving as soon as the voice finished its question. Remember them? What was he talking about?

" _ **No? Such as shame, it would have been much better if you remembered what you did ten years ago that day,"**_ Pharos sighed, his voice sounding different now as he spoke through the mask. Before, he sounded much like how a boy should, but now he was sounding much more mature and very similar to Makoto/Minato.

"We," Kotone whispered the words she had just heard as Mitsuru remained by her side, cringing in pain from her broken/cracked bone. That voice… That was not him. It could not have been! That could only mean…

"Bastard…," Kotone whispered as she punched the ground in anger. Kotone stood back in her feet and glared at the hooded boy, but her glare was not directed at the boy itself, rather it was towards the one truly behind everything, "What did you do to him you bastard?!"

Makoto growled in contrast to Pharos' sudden laughter, _**"Do you think he became friends with you for the reason he claimed? He always wanted this; I just had to remind him."**_

Kotone shook her head, refusing to believe anything he said, "Fuck you! You're going to pay for this! You're going to pay for everything you did to him!"

" _ **Hehe, if you really wanted that, you'd be angry at her,"**_ Pharos said as Makoto pointed his blade at Aigis. _**"Do remember Aigis? Do you remember sealing me inside him?"**_

The moment he finished his sentence, the entire planet seemed to go still. Aigis sealed Pharos inside Makoto? Everyone who was still conscious looked at each other in confusion at the sudden reveal.

"I-I… I don't remember anything," Aigis said, but the quivering in her voice made it clear that something in that sentence made her upset.

Pharos could only chuckle as Makoto was held back only by his commands, _**"Need more? Okay, then."**_

" _ **I am a very, very old entity. About as old as humanity, maybe even older, but no one remembers anymore,"**_ Pharos explained his origins as Makoto turned his head to face Mitsuru, _**"Your grandfather woke me up the day the lab exploded thanks to that archer's father. After that, I was left to wander aimlessly in this dreadful city."**_

Makoto and Pharos sighed as both of their minds went back to that day ten years ago, _**"Incidentally, I was also near a car with a pair of twins with the potential alongside their transmogrified parents; Minato and Minako Arisato."**_

Makoto faced Aigis again, this time also trembling as the anger continued to grow inside him again. _**"That was the place that you tried to destroy me, but all that did was lead to the deaths of the twins' parents and one of them having her leg broken."**_

Everyone's hearts sank as Pharos revealed the most heartbreaking thing he could, _**"Because of the fight we had, the car was set ablaze. Minako tried desperately to have her brother help her and even held tightly onto him while screaming his name, but the boy was too terrified to do so. Instead, afraid of dying, Minato ran as fast as he could away from the car before turning around to see his sister try to crawl out before burning alive with his name being her last words."**_

Makoto put his head down as the memories continued to bombard his brain over and over, _**"Because you, I had to witness him tear himself pieces and put him back together over and over again!"**_ The entire city began to shake, the wind began to blow as if there was a hurricane, and the ground of the entire city block crumbled to pieces by Makoto's and Pharos' auras alone, _**"You call me a monster?! Oh, I'll show you what a true monster is."**_

The mask's eyes formed a small, glowing white orb in the center of each of them as the mask's hold on him was finally complete. Whatever hold Kotone might have had on Makoto before was gone now. Now, all he had was the cold, murderous intent focused on her and the rest of SEES.

The team expected Thanatos to appear again, this time with his entire wrath to kill all of them.

But what came was not Thanatos.

It had his face, but that was all the creature had. Instead of coffins, a pair of quad wings appeared behind the entity that added to the size of the creature that was larger than the already large Thanatos. Instead of a long Katana-like sword that Thanatos always used, it was instead a large broadsword at least the size of one of the creature's wings. The coat that Thanatos always wore was replaced with a black fur-like body with visible veins on the wings that occasionally pulsated while briefly glowing purple.

Death chuckled at the persona users' petrification, _**"Death awaits."**_


	53. Chapter 53

_**Streets** _

Everyone stood frozen at the new figure's sudden appearance as it stretched out its wings and looked down upon them all. They could only stare transfixed, their focus was only broken from the involuntary shivering caused by the sudden cold air. It was as if chains had been wrapped completely around their bodies so that they could only focus on Makoto and his per―

No, that thing was not a persona. A persona was both the strength and the mirror into one's own heart. But what this was... it was a monster beyond anything that could be born from one person's heart alone. It was as if Death itself had taken physical form and was now glaring at all of them as its avatar continued to stare beneath it, his features hidden by his hood and mask that now had two glowing white orbs in the center of the eyes.

"I-I..." Aigis for the first time truly felt what fear was like. Fear, regret, guilt, so many emotions were flooding into her at once as she gazed into the eyes of that monster and the boy whose life was ruined because of what she had done. She did not remember what this thing had spoken of but at the same time, she also knew that there was no way it could be a lie. What she was facing now was both the monster she once faced and the one both she and it made.

"Oh my god..." Mitsuru muttered as everything sunk in. Her grandfather woke this thing and then it was sealed inside him? The aura of this thing alone that was cold enough to even freeze the liquid that poured from the walls was beyond anything any ordinary shadow could do. The wings of the entity along with the shape of the main body made it seem like some sort of dark angel. There was no way this thing was a shadow, but it was definitely was not a persona. The only comparison that could be made was that this thing was a god.

Kotone clutched onto the Evoker in her hands as she witnessed the appearance of the god's true form. For ten years, that thing resided inside Makoto. It was because of that thing that he was an orphan and it was safe to say it was because of what it caused that Minato's personality split. Everything that has happened and that is happening to Makoto/Minato right now was all because of it.

 **"So tell me,"** Death spoke as it surveyed his surroundings. The only ones capable of fighting right now were Aigis, Kotone, and Mitsuru, while Fuuka was off to the side as shocked as the rest of them. This was good, now he could focus purely on the three; the two that caused all of this, and the one who dared to not only ruin his friend but also nearly erase him from existence. **"Are you ready to die?"**

With a single flap of his wings, Death propelled and quickly closed the short distance between it and Aigis. In almost the literal blink of an eye, Death loomed over her and its slammed his blade down. The android was barely able to register the act and move before the ground around her was shattered to pieces causing dirt and dust to kick up into the air.

From the cloud of dust, Makoto leaped high into the air again with his sights set on the android. With his sword in hand, he used the same magic that launched him to accelerate his descent towards the ground. Aigis was barely able to move in time to avoid being skewered by the boy whose life she played in destroying.

While she was able to avoid any critical blows, she could not land a single blow on Makoto no matter what she tried. Despite being as human as the rest of them, she was only able to occasionally graze him before Death intervened.

After another failed attempt to incapacitate him, Aigis was then hit with one of the monster's wings which easily sent her flying until she crashed into the ground next to Mitsuru and Kotone. No matter how hard they try, it just seemed impossible to inflict any sort of injury on him.

"Minato, I know you're in there somewhere,"Kotone declared as she held her Evoker tightly and brought it to her head, her heart pounding at the same rate at the day she first awakened her persona. It was the first day he saved her, and now she had to try to save him. She knew one simple truth; she was not fighting Makoto or Minato, she was fighting Pharos.

"Please, hold on a little longer for me," she whispered before pulling the trigger.

Cu Chulainn appeared behind his master before descending upon Death itself and its avatar, meeting the former spear-to-sword.

" _ **Finally fighting back, I see,"**_ Death chuckled in amusement to see the redhead's resistance. Even so, she was not going to be able to win this fight either all by herself or with the few numbers she does have.

Letting out another small chuckle, Death put all of its weight forward and pushed Cu Chulainn back from their clinch. Stunned by the sudden movement, the persona was helpless as the monster effortlessly cleaved it in half.

Death continued to hover in the air while looking down at the grunting persona-user. _**"Please tell me that wasn't the best you could do."**_

"Grr..." Kotone brought her Evoker back to her head as she continued to glare at the god-like monstrosity that continued to glare at her, "Not even close."

Replacing Cu Chulainn, The Thunder God, Thor appeared which seemed to amuse Death more than anything else. Despite its large size (especially compared to typical personas), Death seemed to effortlessly evade the god's blows but he was not doing much damage either.

Thor continued to keep Death on the defensive as he continued to swing his hammer with the intent of killing the so-called god, but not a single blow could land.

Finally, Kotone saw an opening and Thor motioned his arm to slam his hammer down, only to have his arm grabbed by Death. The entity let out a sigh as it saw the remaining members of SEES move from the corner of its eye, trying to see if they can help turn the tide with their leader. _**"Minato, keep them from interrupting, would you?"**_

Immediately after the exchange Makoto leapt into the air and landed right in front of the two people responsible for everything that had happened to him. Kirijo's father was one of the ones who helped wake Death, and just like Makoto; he was going to know what it was like to lose everything you cherish. Meanwhile, there was Aigis who sealed Death inside him and caused the fight that led to his sister dying.

With the mask still on his face and two glowing orbs in the sockets, Makoto glared at them as he spoke in a soft whisper which seemed to cause the cold air to become even colder, "Are you ready to die?"

 _ **"Hehe, now, where were―Gah!"**_ Death was caught by surprise when Thor's form suddenly changed into Chernobog whose sword cut through the entity's hand and slashed across its chest before fading away as its user ran in the other direction.

"Minato!" Makoto growled and hissed in pain and anger as he looked behind him to spot a familiar redhead running towards him. Of course, he was going to have to deal with her as well. She was the only one who could make him forget what he had set out to do... The only one that threatened to destroy what/who he really was—the only one that could bring back something that should have died long ago.

Makoto was about to take off in a full-blown sprint to cut off her head but was suddenly stopped when he felt well-placed bullets pierce through his left leg. Even now, none of them could bring themselves to inflict any wounds that would normally be fatal.

Death faded away from view, but that did not mean that his presence was gone. _**Minato, do not stop until they are slaughtered like the pigs they are.**_

Curling his free hand into a fist, Makoto slowly stood back up as the girl continued to run to him and the robot was ready to fire again if he tried anything.

Beneath the mask, Makoto's lips curled into an unsettling grin as he attacked again, "Scarlet Havoc."

Upon uttering those words, two personas appeared above him at once, leaving all of them stunned. It was reasonable to think that his persona was Orpheus while Thanatos was the shadow, but he could actually use multiple personas as Kotone could? No not just that, he could use two at once?

Not even giving them time to let it all sink in, circular saw blades began to surround the entire area. Everyone could only look at Makoto who could only hear the inhuman laughter that was echoing within his head. After so many years, it was finally coming to an end.

Without any warning, the saws began to move, slicing everything that they came into contact with as they made their way towards the remaining members of SEES. Whenever they moved to avoid one, two more just appeared to make them move again without any time to catch their breath.

Ares and Siegfried faded away and the saws began to get fewer and fewer until Fuuka noticed him preparing another attack. "Watch out! He's about to—"

"Shadow Hound."

Mitsuru jumped to barely evade one of the last remaining saws, only to be caught off guard for the ground to seemingly combust in a concentrated mini-explosion that sent her flying into nearby rocks again.

"Kirijo…" Makoto whispered the heiress' name and he launched himself into the air again and landed on top of her, crackling her bones and making her scream in pain.

Makoto glared into the heiress' eyes and he wound up his blade, ready to make the kill he had desperately wanted to make for so many years —

"Off-limits, asshole," was all Makoto heard before he felt something kick him off Mitsuru with extreme force, followed immediately by phantom blades that caused several lacerations throughout his entire body.

When he landed, Makoto faced the direction the attack came from and grinned at the persona user in front of him. He must have been so distracted with the fight that he could not even tell that he had caught wind of their scuffle. _**"We were waiting for you, puppet. We are so glad you could join us."**_

Sakuya scoffed, "Yeah, whatever. Can skip the monologue?"

Kotone and Aigis ran to meet the two persona users with the same question on their minds, "What are you doing here?!"

"You weren't exactly quiet," he pointed out, "Besides, I can't her die, not yet anyway," he said, gesturing Mitsuru. "So, I'm going to guess we're dealing with an evil mask?"

" _ **Mask..? Oh, you mean this?"**_ Makoto raised his hand and put his fingers on the smirking face that continued to stare at them. _**"Hehe, you like it? We made it from Ikutsuki's face."**_

"So it's true." Mitsuru grunted as she stood herself up and clutched onto her rapier. "You're the one that killed Ikutsuki!"

Makoto lowered his hand and the temperature suddenly felt as if it had dropped several degrees again. _**"You're a fool if you could not see that he was going to betray you. If you do not believe me, go ahead and ask the reject persona-user?"**_

"Let me get this straight," Kotone whispered, "If we knock off that mask, he'll go back to normal?"

Sakuya shrugged, "Maybe, I don't know. I was just taught to kill people," he said as he readied two blades. "Speaking of which, we don't have the numbers to take him on."

"We left our supply of revival items at the dorm," Aigis warned.

"Wait, what if you combined powers?!" Fuuka asked telepathically, keeping away from the actual battle as much as she could. "Makoto-kun was able to combine the power of multiple personas, so maybe you can try to do that to heal the others!"

"Good idea, but it might take a moment," Kotone said as she looked at the boy next to her, "we're in this together whether you like it or not. Think you can keep him busy?"

Sakuya took a deep breath as he eyed the hooded boy who was waiting patiently to see whatever scheme they might have hatched, "Just hurry the fuck up."

Sakuya ignored the trembling he felt in his hands and knees as SEES went to revive their teammates. He had seen powerful persona users before, but this thing was beyond all of them combined. To make it worse, he healed from practically everything. If his normal strategy of wearing him down was not going to cut it, then he was going to have to change it up a bit.

"All right," Sakuya muttered as he dashed forward weapons ready, "It's Sho-time!"

Grinning beneath his mask, Makoto dashed forward to meet the brunette in a clash. Sparks flew as their blades connected with one another, just like they had many times before.

" _ **So tell me,"**_ Death whispered as Sakuya barely managed to avoid one violent flurry after the other while putting all of his strength into whatever attacks he could manage, _**"why are you helping her? Shouldn't you blame Kirijo for what's been done to you as well?"**_

Before he could respond, Makoto suddenly started to increase the speed and strength in his blows which were enough to cause Sakuya to stumble backward. With his footing gone, Makoto took the chance to drill in freehand into his stomach before grabbing him by the collar and tossing him into the side of a nearby car.

Grunting and coughing up blood, Sakuya slowly stood himself back up while ignoring the pain that he felt throughout his entire body now. "What can I say," he chuckled, "unlike Minato, I'm not a complete bitch."

Makoto stopped grinning and all of the anger he felt inside was now solely focused on the brunette. " _Don't_ call me that."

"What the—" Suddenly, it hit him. A straight-up fight was suicide, but if he could rile him up again just like the first time they fought, then he might be able to give Kotone and the others enough time.

"Aw, is little Minato sad?" Sakuya readied himself to run as fast as he could as he teased the boy. Without Umbra, he could not teleport and using it meant blinding everyone but himself, so he was going to have to hope Kotone and the other figured out something. "What's wrong, did you run out of sisters to let burn?"

"You bastard…!" Makoto screamed as he leapt into the air again and slammed his blade down, trying to cleave that insolent boy in half before ravaging his corpse.

 _Here we go…_ Sakuya said to himself mentally as he ran as quickly as he could, ignoring the sound of the car he was just next to being partially cut in half and partially crushed from the amount of force Makoto put into that swing.

All he had to do was survive this game of cat and mouse.

…

…

…

Kotone, Mitsuru, and Aigis ran as quickly as they could back to the others as they heard the sounds of Makoto screaming in rage, destroying everything around him. Whatever Pharos and that mask had done to him, it had left him nothing more than a violent animal. The only concern he had left in his mind was exacting revenge on everyone that he would have viewed as wronged him in any shape or form.

By the time they had finally reached where most of the team fell, Mitsuru and Kotone were breathless while Aigis remained with the thought that was on everyone's mind; _she_ did this to him? What he was now was not just the result of Pharos, but over ten years of suffering in isolation. Kirijo were the ones that woke Death, Aigis sealed it inside him, and Kotone was the one that angered it. This was a monster that all of them made in some way.

"Do you think we can do it?" Mitsuru was the one to ask the question that no one knew how to answer. If what Makoto said was true, then he has had ten years of practice while Mitsuru did not start fighting seriously until shortly after Kotone's awakening a few months ago.

"I don't think we have much of a choice," Kotone said, grabbing her Evoker from her side, "we have to do this. I'm no genius, but I don't think Sakuya can buy us a lot of time on his own."

"How do we combine our powers," Aigis questioned, "we have not had any prior training or knowledge of this technique before. How can we hope to do it now? Furthermore, should we even trust Sakuya?"

Kotone let out a loud, frustrated grunt as she put her Evoker to her head. "We don't have time to ask questions! Just summon your persona and we can go from there, and if he kills Minato… " Kotone cut herself short, but the look in her eyes told everyone all that they needed to know.

"Persona!" All of them exclaimed in unison as Mitsuru and Aigis summoned their only personas and Kotone summoned Titania. Kotone made sure to review their healing abilities in her head; Mitsuru's was the weakest of the trio but it was better than nothing, Aigis' was the strongest but could only target one person at a time, and hers was strong and target multiple people but still was not nearly strong enough to get everyone back into fighting condition, never mind against something like Makoto right now.

"Try concentrating your power on me, that way I might be able to get Titania to heal everyone," she ordered her teammates. It was a long shot, but it was the only hope that they had.

Everyone closed their eyes as they directed all of their attention purely on their personas' actions. As the persona users bit their lips, a mass of energy began to surround them. It was not very strong at first but continued to build more and more power as they poured everything they had to try to save their friends.

 _Come on, come on…_ Kotone repeated in her head, praying that this would work. She could feel the energy continued to build more and more until…

Kotone's eyes shot open and a small gasp escaped her lips when she felt the energy finally burst into the equivalent of an entire cyclone of healing spells. The mass of energy that surrounded the three of them quickly began to spread to her fallen friends who began to slowly get back up.

"H-Holy shit…" Junpei whispered as he sat up, everything that had happened just a few moments ago replaying in his head over and over again on a loop.

Yukari coughed as she held onto her throat. Never before had she ever been so afraid of something in her entire life. Even when Arcana Magician climbed the roof of the dorm, it paled in comparison to the terror she felt as she looked into the soulless eyes of her attacker as he attempted to slowly choke the life out of her.

Koromaru whimpered as he slowly got off Ken, the latter of which groaned. Ken knew what it was like to want vengeance, for it was the only thing that kept him going after Shinjiro killed his mother. Now, he was forced to see just what kind of monster vengeance could have made him become.

"We've beaten the odds before, but…" Akihiko shivered from the cold air, "how are we supposed to take _that_ down?"

Kotone sighed. Of course, everyone's morale was going to be down after that. They were right though, how were they supposed to win against him? Even if knocking off the mask works, how are they supposed to be able to pull that off without anyone getting killed?

"I don't know," Kotone answered honestly, "but we have to try. If we can get that mask off him, then we should be able to get him back to normal. This won't be easy, but if he's really been containing that thing inside him for all these years, then we owe it to him to try and save him from it."

"Another life ruined by Kirijo…" Mitsuru muttered with her head hanging, "it's only fitting that it's up to us, the ones determined to undo my family's atrocious actions to face the one whose life had been the most affected by them."

There was a brief moment of silence between all of them as everything sunk in. They knew it was up to them to stop Makoto and that monster inside him, but it sounded more like a fool's errand than anything. They were fighting something on the same level as gods and a persona-user with the same talents as Kotone.

"We should locate Makoto-san immediately," Aigis was the one who broke the silence, "I do not think that Sakuya-san can hold him off much longer."

"Hold on Minato," Kotone whispered as she and the rest of her team ran towards the sound of fighting. "I don't know how, but I'll save you."

…

…

…

"Hraagh!" Makoto swung his sword wildly at the brunette who continued to dodge his flurry of attacks. Sakuya kept his eyes on the prince's shoulders which—thanks to his lack of technique—gave away every attack that was going to make.

Dodging another attack and seeing a punch about to follow, Sakuya ducked and stabbed his blade straight into Makoto's left leg.

As Makoto grunted in pain, Sakuya used the sword in his left hand to slash outwards, slice open Makoto's stomach and injury his sword arm to avoid any immediate counter-attacks.

Seeing his opening, Sakuya jumped back, away from the dark prince. "Scotus!"

With his scythe already over his shoulder, the god of darkness swung his weapon and launched Makoto into the air. But even after that attack, the boy was not helpless.

Soon after the blow connected and he was sent flying, Makoto threw his sword towards Ikutsuki's failed project. The blade might have landed a few feet away from him, but Sakuya was still caught within the blast of dark energy that Makoto had prepared beforehand.

With no means of defence, Sakuya was forced to take the full power of the blast and became engulfed within smoke and dust.

At the same time, Makoto shifted his weight backward and touched the ground with the palm of his hand just enough that he was able to regain enough control and land feet-first without any issues.

Makoto began to walk forward and stared at his injured arm that slowly began to heal. It was amusing that this was once the only boy who had been able to hurt him, but now he was as weak as all the rest of them were.

It was strange though. He was putting a lot more strength into his attacks and was being much more direct now. Come to think of it…

" _ **So tell me,"**_ Death continued to echo through the mask, _**"Are you trying to emulate the OTHER failure's fighting style? Is he your reason for trying to save Kirijo?"**_

The dust and smoke began to clear and Sakuya was revealed to still be standing, but barely. Despite being winded and covered in his own blood, the boy chuckled.

"What can I say?" He continued to laugh despite the pain in his ribs from an earlier injury, "Unlike your best pal, I don't leave my family to die."

"Grrr…" Makoto growled again as he took off running. Too injured to run anymore, Sakuya just smiled and prepared himself for the hell that awaited him.

Before he knew it, Makoto drilled his fist straight into his stomach with as much force as he could muster.

His mind flooded with nothing but rage, Makoto threw the boy into the air just like he had with him. This time, however, Makoto summoned Thor who used his hammer to strike the helpless boy who crashed into another pile of rocks and debris.

Makoto walked to the brunette who was still wheezing and holding on with everything he had. _**"Funny thing is, if you had just stayed away, I might've been able to forgive you in time. Minato certainly didn't hold any grudges against you."**_

"Hehe," Even with his body screaming at him, Sakuya laughed again, "Don't bullshit me. You were gonna hunt my ass either way."

" _ **Perhaps…"**_ Makoto grabbed the boy's collar and the two glared into the other's eyes. In a way, they were both just victims of the Kirijo group; Makoto by Kirijo awakening Death and Sakuya by everything Ikutsuki had done to him. The only difference is Sakuya was still fighting tooth and nail to save a brother who was not even related to him by blood. Meanwhile, Makoto had—

A splashing sound could be heard as Sakuya stabbed his knife into his enemy's throat, causing large amounts of blood to fall to the ground floor.

Makoto did not even say anything, merely tilted his head to the side questioningly.

"Had to try," Sakuya said as he pulled the blade out and accepted what came next, "Go on, hell's waitin' for the both of us. Don't keep the Devil waiting, sister-killer."

With his rage returning at the reminder of his greatest failure, Makoto stabbed his blade straight into the brunette's torso. "See you there…"

Makoto pulled out his blade and stabbed the boy again and again before channeling his and Death's dark magic into the blade that made it easy to the through the flesh and bone of the boy's legs, then his head, and the topped off by tearing the rest of his torso in half.

The familiar thrill that came after a death like this one was flooding his brain. Makoto left laughing in ecstasy as he claimed the life of the one that had nearly killed him months ago. There was hardly anything left in his mind anymore other than the faint whispers in his head telling him to move on. Surely the next one would be—

Interrupting his thoughts and fit of laughter, Makoto was caught off guard as a blast of fire struck him from the left which launched him several feet.

After landing and briefly rolling on the ground, Makoto sat up hissing in pain as he clutched his left arm that was now scorched. Of course, Death was still missing one of his pieces. Even if he was strong enough that he could not be destroyed, Makoto was still flesh and bone, which meant that there was still one thing that could pose a threat to them.

Makoto turned his head to glare at the group that had just arrived. _**"Tch, Wild Cards…"**_

Makoto narrowed his eyes beneath the mask as the persona-users looked in horror at what he had just done to the last one. His gaze, however, was focused on just one of them in particular.

" _ **And here I thought you'd never let yourself hurt him."**_ Death growled at her, his urge to tear her to pieces growing by the second.

Kotone's eyes widened as she spotted Makoto's still injured arm. Unless that was a fluke or part of some way for Death to mock her, that meant that _she_ was the only one who could actually hurt him… and she was going to have to do it to the last person she would ever want to hurt.

Still, Kotone tightened the grip of her weapon as she glared at the mask. "Let him go now, that way he doesn't need to be hurt by either of us anymore."

" _ **Everything I've ever done has always been FOR him."**_ Death reappeared above Makoto with outstretched wings. _**"I didn't care what he did with you, at least until you threatened to take him away."**_

"I'm helping him become who he was before you," Kotone shot back, "I'm the one that caused him to reveal _both_ of his sides, and I'm the one who brought the two together long enough to meet the real him."

" _ **And I'm the one who's kept him safe. I'm the one that put him together over and over when he tore himself about because of the frustration YOU caused,"**_ Death's anger boiled and the air became colder and colder, causing everyone to shiver, _**"Have you even paid attention to the 'real' him? I have during the brief moments he's shown himself, and you're in for quite the surprise."**_

Kotone raised her weapon as her team readied beside her, "I'm not going to let you win."

" _ **Hehe, come and stop me… if you can."**_ With that, Makoto and Death prepared themselves to finish what they had set out to achieve once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He's DEAD! Gone! We shall NEVER speak of him again! Mistake erased! He has kicked the bucket! He is in pieces! He has ceased to function! He has been left to rot! That is an ex-person!
> 
> Okay good, now we're clear on that.


	54. Chapter 54

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just saying, I was reading Berserk when I wrote this. Readers of that might notice a certain something Makoto does multiple times throughout the arc...

_**Streets** _

_**Cut them all down.**_ Pharos whispered into Makoto's ear. Even if they had Kotone now, he had done this before and he just needed to do it again. He was not going to lose now, not after coming so far.

Makoto stood still as the same brawlers that attacked him before charged at him once again, but this time Kotone joined them as well. This did little to change anything, however, as Makoto was still as strong and agile as he was before.

Makoto continued to move almost effortlessly to avoid their attacks. No matter where they attacked and how fast they were, the most they could get in was a few clips and scrapes as he continued to dodge and counter just like he had done before.

" _ **Is this it?"**_ Death taunted them as it stretched its wings and an invisible force pushed everyone back several feet away. _**"We have waited ten years for this moment, and this is all you can offer? Are you truly going to continue boring us?"**_

"B-Boring…?" Everyone slowly repeated its words as Death continued to stand behind Makoto, its strange face seemingly making a taunting smirk alongside the one already present on Makoto's mask.

" _ **Yes, boring. You have had over about half a year to prepare, so give us something to remember."**_ Death chuckled as Makoto tilted his head slightly to the right. After all these years, is this all that they had to offer?

"We're not here to entertain you," Kotone grunted as she lifted herself from the dirt.

" _ **You're clearly not here to win."**_ Death let out a sigh as SEES prepared to attack them again. It simply remained still as they prepared another futile effort to attack.

Makoto let out a yawn and pulled up his gloves, not even pretending to be cautious. The boy sighed before clutching onto his sword and slowly began dashing towards SEES. Death faded away, but remained ready to reappear should the situation call for it. For now, it was time to show them just how pointless this struggle is.

Catching them by surprise, Makoto slung the blade of his shoulder as he dropped to the ground and began to crawl like an animal and a mass of dark magic began to coat his blade again.

Makoto leapt into the air again, shifting his weight while swinging his sword to build up the momentum and force as he aimed his sights on the only one in the group that could pose any real threat to him.

Kotone jumped out of the way of the attack just in time before Makoto and his blade slammed onto the ground again. In the midst of the debris scattering from the attack, Makoto's arm broke from the whiplash, giving off a disgusting snapping sound but that didn't seem to bother the possessed persona user.

Makoto and Kotone briefly locked eyes with one another. Even beneath that determination, Makoto could see the fear in her eyes as clear as day; the fear of actually having to hurt him. Beneath his glare and that cursed mask, Kotone knew that the boy she loved had to be in there somewhere.

Looking away from Kotone, Makoto's attention turned to her teammates who were quickly approaching to aid their leader. A soft growl came from Makoto as he summoned a sword in his left hand and dashed towards them with the bones in his right arm slowly pinning themselves back in place.

Makoto slashed the air, causing a dark wave of magic to be launched towards them. As SEES scattered to avoid the attack, Orpheus Kai, the twisted parody of the original Orpheus appeared and played his lyre, causing sudden explosions of dark energy to scatter throughout the entire area.

Within the dark cloud caused by the magic and dust, Makoto sensed the movement of one of the things he hated most in this world. Just like when Sakuya used Umbra to try and throw him off, there was one thing that both he and _it_ shared.

Makoto dashed forward and attacked, narrowly missing when Aigis avoided his sudden attack. A faint clicking sound could be heard as she quickly locked on to his limbs.

Before she could get her chance, Death reappeared in front of the prince and knocked the android away with a strike from his wing.

Rather than looking behind him, Makoto heard footsteps rapidly approaching and parried the attack with the blade in his left hand. Of course, the only one who could fight that much like an amateur was none other than Junpei.

Makoto quickly attempted to counter-attack with the blade he wielded with his right, but Junpei was able to jump back before getting severed in half.

Stumbling back, Junpei clumsily reached for his Evoker and summoned Hermes who proceeded to attack the boy with the sharp edges of his heels.

Before the messenger of the gods could reach him, Death showed himself again and grabbed the persona by his legs before slamming him on the ground repeatedly like a ragdoll.

Junpei let out a loud grunt as he felt the pain his persona was in, but that only left him vulnerable enough for Makoto to dashed forward and attack.

Junpei tried to block too late when Makoto put all of his strength into his swords which caused the capped boy's defence to completely shatter on contact. All it took was Death using the wind to send him flying, and the boy was left too injured to continue again.

Makoto had to time to relish in his enemies defeat as he spotted Caesar and Kala-Nemi coming from the corner of his eye. It was interesting to see that both Akihiko and Ken had managed to get their ultimate personas since he was gone, but they were still not matched for him.

Death easily finished off Kala-Nemi with a single uppercut slash from his broadsword. Meanwhile, Caesar's attack was intercepted by Siegfried, causing the persona to stumble back.

With his balance broken, Siegfried morphed into Orpheus Kai who sent a barrage of ice crystals at the roman, leaving both his and Kala-Nemi's masters in pain and vulnerable.

Both Death and Orpheus Kai moved next to their master and summoned a single mass of dark energy, causing the resulting explosion to incapacitate the two persona users.

As Orpheus Kai was recalled, Death spotted Mitsuru not far to his right. Flapping his wings and dashing forward, Death proceeded to slam his blade downwards in the hopes of finally killing the heiress and making her father feel the same despair that Makoto had felt for ten years.

A loud clang echoed through the streets as the strike that Death was about to make never connected with Mitsuru. Instead, the attack was intercepted by the sword of the persona Chernobog.

Makoto's eyes widened for a moment before he looked back to see the redhead that had caused everything to escalate this far clutching her Evoker tightly in her hand.

Makoto growled loudly and was about to attack her again, but then SEES's leader began to speak to the boy again.

"Minato, stop it! I know you're there somewhere!" Kotone continued her desperate plea, which only served to aggravate him more.

Mitsuru retreated from the area to avoid any further attacks of Death who was now sinking his jaws into the persona that had saved her life.

" _ **When will you learn it's hopeless?!"**_ Death screamed as it forced the persona to be recalled. _**"He feels nothing for you anymore!"**_

"You say that…" Kotone cringes and grunted in pain as she felt the burn from her persona, "but I don't see him lashing out at me for calling him by his real name."

Makoto and Death both stood completely still for a moment after what she said, leaving a moment of silence that seemed to go on for hours. After a few moments, Makoto glared back at her, growling just like he had done ever since this fight started.

Makoto quickly dashed forward, no longer wasting any more time for her and Death to continue bantering.

Kotone ducked her head and dashed to the right to avoid his first attack aimed directly for her head. Makoto attempted to strike again, but Kotone reached for her Evoker and summoned Kingu who used his snake-like body to knock Makoto away several yards away.

Makoto let out a brief scream in pain in before shifting his weight mid-air so that he was able to land feet-first without any more injury, and glared at the redhead again.

Kotone bit her lip as she felt the coldness of his eyes, and all of the pressure from having to face him while not wanting to hurt him began to add up. "Goddammit, Minato, is this it?! You're going to spit on her face again! Do you really think she wants you to be a puppet to her murderer? Wake up! Or else it'll happen all over again."

"…" Makoto was rendered completely still again as her words hit him harder than any persona possibly could.

" _ **Silence…!"**_ Death screamed as he forced his own summoning, flapping his wings and dashing towards the girl.

Kotone quickly fired her Evoker and re-summoned Chernobog again whose blade clashed with Death's, almost forcing them into another stalemate.

Chernobog was forced back by the sheer force behind Death's blade, unable to match the power of the old god.

Death raised his blade, ready to finish off both the persona and its user in just one—

" _ **Gah…!"**_ Death screamed in pain as he felt an attack to its side, forcing it away from both of its targets.

"Huh?" Kotone looked towards the direction of the attack and saw Mitsuru, Yukari, and Koromaru who had attacked it.

"Shiomi, keep getting through to him," Mitsuru ordered, "We'll deal with this monster."

Kotone nodded, "Don't do anything stupid!" She ordered her teammates as she ran back to the possessed and brainwashed boy.

…

Makoto continued to remain perfectly still, unable to speak or move as the words continued to echo in his head.

"Minato, please…" Kotone pleaded with him again, "She's crying up there! Not because of anything you did! She's crying because she'd never want this to happen to you! For god's sake, she loved you!"

Makoto grunted as he slowly began to twitch as so many emotions flooded into him at once, "S-Shut up… Shut up…"

"She's burning in pain up there! All because of him! At least give her peace if you couldn't save her!" Kotone continued to reach out to him, trying desperately to break the curse placed on him in any way she could.

Makoto covered his ears over his hood as he shook his head as his agitation grew, "SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Screaming, Makoto glared at Kotone and dashed towards her…

…

Death screamed in anger as it cut through Penthesilea, trying its best to rush towards Makoto. Instead, Io used powerful winds to force the god of death further away from his goal as Cerberus pounced onto its back and dug all three of his jaws into the monster.

" _ **Grrr…"**_ Death growled in anger as he reached for his back and grabbed one of the heads of the three-headed guard dog and pulled him off.

" _ **You little—"**_ Death was cut off when he turned, only for something to suddenly pierce straight through its torso and force it to crash back onto the gravel on the ground.

"I will not allow you to torment them or _him_ anymore!" Aigis announced, having recovered from Death's earlier attack.

" _ **Grgh…"**_ growled as Palladion was recalled. _**"I will tear all of you to pieces. Boil your eyes. Rend the flesh from your bones..."**_

Death continued to shout curses as he spotted the rest of SEES had recovered from the onslaught thanks to the healing spells from the rest. Everyone chose to surround the monster in front of them, hoping that they would be able to buy Kotone enough time to either get through to Makoto or to rip that mask off his face. _**"Die… Die, die, die…!"**_

"Watch out!" Fuuka warned her teammates as Death let out an ear-piercing shriek. SEES could only brace themselves as Death went back on the offensive.

…

"SHUT UP!" Makoto screamed as he attempted to pounce on the redhead again, only for her to move out of the way to avoid it.

Kotone clutched onto her Evoker and pulled the trigger again, her gaze meeting his as they echoed each other's words.

"Persona!"

From the sea of souls, Kotone summoned Thor, the same persona that Makoto had used just a few moments ago. Meanwhile, Makoto had once again summoned the sick parody of his initial persona, Orpheus Kai.

Thor swung his hammer at the musician who used his lyre to block the attack. Again and again, the god of thunder clashed with the poet who wanted nothing other than to bring his wife back from the dead, just as in the end, Makoto wanted nothing more than to have the life that was stolen from him back again. Alas, just like Orpheus, Makoto was never going to have his wish fulfilled.

Makoto ran to the girl again with his swords coated in dark energy again, whispering the same two words he had been repeating for several moments now.

Kotone braced herself just in time to defend herself against the flurry of rapid slashes coming from the same boy who just a few weeks ago was holding her in his arms as she slept. Makoto was swinging wildly, launching attack after attack with Kotone barely able to either parry or evade the assault from his twin blades.

Kotone sidestepped just in time to avoid a dropping slash that likely would have split her head in half if the blades had connected. Seeing her chance and knowing that she could not keep fighting like this forever, she slashed her naginata and sliced through the flesh in the boy's right leg. Even though it pained her to hurt him, she needed some way to slow him down.

"Grgh…!" Makoto grunted in pain as he jumped back, giving time for the wound in his leg to close. Unlike him, her weapons were not summoned using her personas so it would not leave any mortal wounds, but it certainly still hurt.

"Minato… don't make me do this," Kotone begged him one more time, clutching tightly to her Evoker. "You're the last person I want to hurt! Please, she wouldn't want this! She loved you! I love you! I hate having to do this to you, so please, stop!"

"Stop… Stop…" Makoto whispered as his involuntary twitching in anger only increased in frequency, "Stop talking, stop talking, stop talking…!" No matter what she said to him, he was beyond being reasoned with now.

 _I'm sorry, Minato._ Mentally apologizing for the pain she was causing him, Kotone pressing her Evoker against her head and firing it to summon Siegfried to incapacitate the boy.

"Kali…" Makoto whispered the name of the persona, whose blades clashed with the dragon slayer's causing brief sparks to fly with every attack.

Siegfried attempted to overwhelm the goddess with pure strength alone, but Kali was more than able to match the ferocity with her quad-blades. Every time Siegfried attacked, he could immediately be forced back, lest he is cut into pieces by the two other blades that were not blocking/evading any attack.

Siegfried attacked again with an outwards slash aiming to sever the goddess in half, but instead, Kali pulled back as she transformed back into Orpheus Kai who played his lyre and hit the persona with the one type of attack it could not take—darkness.

Just like the fate suffered by Eurydice, Siegfried began to fade away as the dark clutches of the underworld began to take hold of him until he had completely vanished without a trace.

Seeing Kotone writhing in pain, Makoto bolted for her again, ready to finally finish this and close this overly long chapter of his life.

As he leapt into the air as he had done so many times before, Kotone fired off her Evoker to summon her next persona in a desperate attempt to save her own life, "Hariti!"

A clocked woman appeared before Kotone before launching a barrage of ice crystals at Makoto before he could land, slicing through the flesh all over his body before he crashed into the ground.

Feeling its friend's pain, Death immediately ceased his fight with SEES and screamed, _**"ENOUGH!"**_

Lifting its wings and letting out a deafening shriek, an invisible supernatural forced suddenly pushed everyone around Death before it quickly made its way to the persona of the girl who dared to hurt him.

Grabbing the persona with its bare hands, Death proceeded to rip the ogress' head off almost effortlessly. As she was left to recover from the pain, Death gave her a quick strike from his wing that launched her towards her teammates.

"Argh…. Grgh…" Makoto grunted and hissed in pain as he slowly stood himself up, his blood now dripping onto the ground from the several cuts and lacerations left by simple crystals of ice that would not heal.

As he began to make his way towards SEES again, Kotone could not help but gaze at Makoto. Even when she was healed and could properly stand up again, her focus was focused more of him than that of her own team.

"I don't mean to be that guy, but," Junpei gulped, "This isn't working out so well."

"I can see that, but—" Kotone's words were cut-off when she heard the sound of crackling and shattering. She looked to the ichor on the walls that had frozen from Death's sudden appearance and were now shattering the ice to retreat from the walls, and that could only mean one thing.

"Uh, guys, the Dark Hour is ending!" Kotone shared the bad news, "If I had to guess, I'd say we only have around five minutes!"

Everyone looked at Makoto with horrified looks on their faces as the gravity of the situation sunk in. They only had five more minutes to defeat an old god of Death who had brainwashed/possessed a boy who had the same talents as Kotone in just five minutes?!

"How the hell are we supposed to beat him in just five minutes?!" Akihiko verbalized the question that was on everyone's mind.

In contrast to everyone's horror, Aigis looked at the scene with a more dejected look in her eyes. Even if she cannot remember it, she knew that everything that that god had said was true. She was the one who had sealed it inside the boy named Minato Arisato, and she was the one responsible for everything happening to the boy now known as Makoto Yuki. Everything that was happening was her fault, even more so than the Kirijo group.

"You should go," Aigis spoke up, surprising her friends.

"Huh? What do you mean, Aigis?" Fuuka asked.

"We cannot win this fight today, therefore it is best if you enact a tactical withdrawal," Aigis explained to the rest, "If my hypothesis is correct, either he or the shadow inside him can sense the plume within my Papillon Heart, meaning it would be ill-advised for me to go with you."

"W-What are you suggesting!?" Yukari screamed, but everyone knew what she was implying.

"I am a machine," Aigis reminded them, "I do not have 'life' like the rest of you. If I am damaged, I can be repaired or replaced."

"Aigis, this is ridiculous!" Mitsuru tried to convince the android to change her mind, "We've already lost Aragaki! We can't risk losing you too!"

"I'm afraid that we do not have time to argue," Aigis said glancing at both the retreating ichor and the boy who was getting closer and closer, "You must retreat to a safe area immediately!"

Amidst her teammates, many of which were trying to talk her out of it, Aigis focused on Kotone, "Kotone-san, please… free him from this curse I forced upon him all those years ago! I do not want him to suffer like this anymore!"

"I-I… I promise," Kotone swore as she accepted what she had to do. "Guys, come on! We… We don't have a choice."

Giving one last glance at the android, the members of SEES reluctantly left their teammate behind with the same boy whose life she had sentenced to this hell ten years ago.

Makoto's eyes were not focused on Aigis, however. Instead, they were too busy noticing Kotone running with the rest of her team. Upon witnessing this, Makoto began to dash forward with the intention of tearing her and the rest to shreds but then felt something grab onto him from behind and retrain.

"Minato-san, please listen…" Aigis tried to reach out to him as he fought against her restraints, tugging and pulling desperately to get free.

Makoto paused for a moment as the anger welled up inside him, "Don't… call me that!" Makoto screamed as he backed up into the wall of the nearest building as hard as he could to get the robot off of him.

Still unable to get free but having loosened her grip, Makoto dropped the sword in his left hand and instead reached out to grab one of the arms restraining him and threw the android over him.

Aigis easily landed on her feet, but that was nothing compared to the sudden flurry of slashes that came after, each one needing to be dodged lest the magic channeled into the blades tears through her mechanical components.

After one more attack, Aigis saw his face along with the mask covering it exposed for just a few seconds. If she could just get that off him, then just maybe this nightmare could finally end.

Aigis desperately reached out with her hand open trying to reach for the mask to save the same boy she had condemned so long ago, but it was all in vain.

Seeing her attack coming, Makoto leaned to the right to avoid the hand while at the same time taking the chance to counter with an uppercut slash that completely severed her right arm at the shoulder.

Not giving her any time to even register the damage, Makoto focused on power charging his left fist before sending straight through the mechanical maiden's chassis causing all of her movements to come to an immediate stop.

Aigis could do nothing but make small involuntary facial twitches as she was eye-to-eye with Makoto who leaned closer to her ear.

" _ **Go back where you belong…"**_

"Go back to hell…"

Makoto pulled out his hand from the robot and jumped backward, just avoiding the one last explosion of dark energy for the night. However many pieces she was in after that was anyone's guess, but Aigis was taken care of.

Makoto turned to the direction where Kotone and the others had escaped to. They thought that just by running away they would be safe.

No. There was nowhere they could go where they would be safe from him. This would not end until he had anointed this entire city with their blood.

"Run while you can…" Makoto whispered.

" _ **We know just where you'll go…"**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .... I did mention this arc was long, right?
> 
> But aw, man, I really like Aigis. Poor Ai-chan...


	55. Chapter 55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All things considered, you should be pretty thankful you don't get the long waits that everyone else on FF got for these chapter updates. That said, you're going to be getting them soon.

_**Outside the Dorm** _

Panting and exhausted, the members of SEES continued to drag their feet to return home, the Dark Hour has long since ended. In just one night, they had witnessed the death of three persona users, learned that Ikutsuki was planning to betray them, lost another one of their own, learned the truth behind what happened to Makoto since he was gone and his past, and now know they have to fight a persona user who had the same talents as their leader—only his seemed to be even stronger.

 _Maybe Igor might know something?_ Kotone thought as she continued to walk with her exhausted friends. Igor, the so-called master of the Velvet Room was never the most helpful in most cases due to how cryptic he made everything. But alas, he was the only person left who could know anything about anything that is going on.

In any case, it was going to have to wait. For now, all she could do was return home for the night and sleep on it. Whether she liked it or not, she was going to have to face him again, and she could not run forever.

Sometime later, SEES finally made it back to their dorm after a long and exhausting day.

"Uh… Guys," Junpei called to everyone as he stood in front of the door, "It _is_ still October, right?"

"Huh, what kind of question is that?" Akihiko gave a confused look along with the rest of his peers, "Of course it is."

"Then look at _this!_ " As everyone exchanged confused glances, Fuuka walked up to the door to see what Junpei was talking about, and let out a surprised gasp.

"T-The door, t-the lock has completely frosted over!" True to her word, when everyone investigated the doorknob, they could only find that the lock had completely iced over, making entry without breaking down the door impossible.

"How did—" Mitsuru never got to finish her sentence. Instead, she and the others could only watch as the frost began to spread from the door to the surface of the walls and windows.

Kotone froze in place. There was only one time that she saw something like this happen, and that was when she first saved Makoto from Pharos…

Kotone slowly turned to look back as her team focused on the dorm, and she saw _him_ on the other side of the street silently watching with a silhouette of a winged monster above him. The glowing white orbs in the eyes were gone, either because the Dark Hour had passed or so it would be easier for him to blend in.

It did not take long for the rest of SEES to notice and follow their leader's gaze and saw Makoto silently watching them as their dorm continued to freeze and a dull pressure began to set in.

"W-We need to go…," Mitsuru told the rest of her teammates.

"But where," Yukari asked as she backed away from both the dorm and the boy who was still silently watching them.

"It doesn't matter, anywhere but here!" And with that, she and the rest of SEES took off running. It was dangerous to remain at the dorm any longer with Makoto there, and now they were going to have to find somewhere else to hide until they could find a way to deal with him.

 _ **Go on… run.**_ Pharos chuckled as he watched SEES run with their tails between their legs. _**It doesn't matter where you go. We will hunt you down to the ends of this world.**_

Makoto continued his silence as he looked back at the dorm, the frost that had covered it now beginning to leave now that its purpose had been fulfilled. The wounds he had received from Kotone earlier continued to drip with blood, but that would end in due time.

Letting out a sigh, Makoto tugged on his gloves as he into the dorm. It would not many more nights for this to end. He just needed a few more…

Until then, it would be nice to have a decent hideout for once.

* * *

_**?** _

After a long night of running, SEES were led into an unfamiliar building by Mitsuru where they gathered and were finally able to catch their breath after a long night.

"What is this place?" Fuuka asked as she rubbed her exhausted eyes. The whole building looked like the command room in the dorm, complete with the large computers and monitors.

"After the incident in April, I decided to have this place remade into an emergency headquarters should the dorm become damaged or destroyed," Mitsuru explained to her friends. "Although, it was never finished and I had prayed that we would never have to use it."

Junpei let out a sigh as he sat against the wall, "Hey… if he was there, do you think that means that Aigis is…" No one wanted to finish that sentence.

"I… arranged for a team to search for whatever remained before daylight could strike." Mitsuru said as she looked down with a visibly sour mood, "I'm afraid it's true. Aigis won't be coming to help us."

A long moment of silence filled the room as they silently grieved for another lost friend.

"It's been a long night. We should rest before deciding what course of action to take." Mitsuru advised as she walked towards another section of the building, "The rooms are unclaimed, so take whichever one you want for now."

As everyone dragged themselves their rooms, Kotone remained looking out the window, gazing at the desolate streets.

"I'm sorry, Minato…" She whispered as she went to an unoccupied room. Makoto was left to break when she and the others left him alone with Pharos, and then, she failed to find him when he went missing. She failed him… and now, she was the only one who could defeat him.

As she lied on the bed, the thoughts of her mother came worming their way back into the back of her mind, drawing parallels between both of them. The redhead unconsciously rubbed her hand that was still bruised and bloodied from when she had punched the floor.

This was a monster everyone had made somehow. Kirijo took away his family, Aigis sealed Death inside him, she caused him to open up, and then she and the others left him alone to break. She made him into the monster he was now, and now she had to find a way to fix it.

* * *

_**?** _

"Welcome…"

Kotone opened her eyes as the familiar sounds of a piano playing along with a woman singing filled her ears. In front of her was the strange long-nosed man known only as Igor, and by his side was none other than Theodore (or rather, Theo).

"Huh? Igor…?" Kotone blinked in surprise. Normally she had to visit a door (which she dubbed the "Velvet Door") in Paulownia or Tartarus to visit the Velvet Room, but now she seemed to called here in her dreams, something that has not happened in ages.

"Wait, this is a good thing! Igor, I—" Before she could even finish her sentence, Igor held up his hand and began talking.

"Yes, Yes. I am well aware of the situation between you and the one with the Death Arcana." Igor said, his voice as calm as ever. "Hmm, it would seem that the entity inside him is allowing him to use his dormant Wild Card. My, what an interesting turn of events."

" _Interesting…?!_ Are you insane?!" Kotone could not hold it back. The anger came pouring through her throat. "Is this some kind of sick game to you?! He's completely lost it and I… I…"

"Calm yourself, Master Kotone." Igor urged the young girl. "Rest assured, I do not take these events lightly. Rather, this is the first time even I have seen something like this happen before."

"It's that damn mask…" Kotone muttered as pinched her nose. "If I could just get that thing off him…"

Suddenly, Kotone looked back up at Igor as an idea came to mind, "Wait, do you have anything that could help me?!"

"W-Well…" Igor and Theo both exchanged glances as an uncomfortable silence befell the both of them.

Theodore swallowed a lump in his throat and spoke, "Under normal circumstances, we would provide you with a special mirror that would break the curse the moment when the affected sees their reflection."

"Alas, these are not normal circumstances." Igor sighed. "I'm afraid there is nothing we can give you to help you save your friend."

Kotone lowered her head upon receiving the news. As if everything was not bad enough, now she was being told that there was _nothing_ anyone could do and that she was in this by herself.

"If that's true…" Kotone slowly raised her head, her eyes seemingly lit by the fire in her eyes, "Then why the hell did you bring me here!?"

Igor let out another sigh, "Though we cannot assist you in breaking whatever curse has befallen the boy, we can assist you in your next battle."

With a snap of his fingers, tiny fragments of light began to gather on the table between Kotone and Igor until they properly materialized into the familiar shape of a naginata.

Before Kotone could say anything, Igor began to explain, "As you may have noticed, both the boy and the one that shared his Arcana were both able to summon their weapons with nothing other than their connection to their persona. Thus, one's weapons were able to harm the other… for a time."

Igor looked down at the table, "While with practice, you would likely be able to perform the same technique along with the rest of your teammates, I do not believe we have that time. As such, we have given you this to defend yourself with."

Kotone slowly picked up the weapon and carefully ran her index finger along the blade's razor-sharp edge. "So, this can…" she paused, hesitant to consider harming Makoto more than she already has.

"If you desire, then yes," Igor answered. "If nothing else, you will find it easier to channel your personas' powers into your weapon, much like he can. If you do not wish to kill him, then you at least have the means to incapacitate him now."

Kotone said nothing. She had nothing to say at this point. If she refused it, then she would be left with nothing but her personas to defend herself with, and it would be much harder to leave non-fatal injuries that way. At the same time, this meant that she was going to have to harm him herself and there would no longer be any excuses.

Disregarding her silence, Igor began to speak once more, "Now, the dawn will soon be breaking in your world. Good luck on your journey."

And the image of the Velvet Room began to fade from Kotone's mind as she began to wake up.

* * *

_**Hideout** _

When Kotone awoke and looked at her surroundings, she found the same weapon that was previously in the Velvet Room leaning against the wall.

She could only sigh as the fact that she had to hurt Makoto continued to sink in. She knew she had to, no question. He was dangerous right now, and he has already killed three persona users plus Aigis.

He had to be stopped.

She had to stop him.

But how was she supposed to do that without anyone else getting hurt?

And more importantly, how long did they have until he found them?

* * *

_**Dorm** _

Makoto remained as silent as ever as he carefully searched every room he could find, searching endlessly for any clue on where they may have run off to.

Time after time, he could only find nothing!

Akihiko's room was filled with nothing more than useless exercise equipment and protein crap, the former of which were left in several pieces by Makoto after a fit of anger and frustration.

Junpei's room was simply a mess and not worth checking, but that was fine with Makoto after he burned that laptop of his, the same one that was used to show the only thing capable of scarring Makoto at the time.

Ken's had nothing but a pet hamster, leaving it being a complete waste of time. Despite being filled with computers and other parts from various other things, Fuuka's room was roughly the same in that regard.

Yukari's was filled with nothing more than more pink and girly trash, most of which was burned to ash by the time Makoto was done searching.

Aigis' room was more like an armory. Like an armory, it was useful for finding weapons, but nothing in regards to information.

Mitsuru's room was more like a giant lounge and was even more of a waste of time. In an act of anger at her family and his frustrations, her room was left the most damaged which several scratches, marks, and broken furniture littered throughout.

Finally, the only room that was left was Kotone's. When Makoto entered, all he could find was a mostly barren room with pink sheets on the bed and blue curtains.

"Grrr…" Makoto growled as he searched top to bottom, and come up with nothing. The only thing of note was the portrait sitting on her desk.

When the hooded boy took a closer look at it, he saw a picture of a young girl who was maybe 4-5 years old. Alongside her are two others, one man and one woman whose features look remarkably similar to that of the girl's. It was not hard to figure out what this was; it was the last family photo Kotone's family took before her mother abandoned her.

Makoto felt the urge to lash out, but his eyes remained transfixed the family's happy faces. Even though he tried to block it out, this photo only brought back memories of his seventh birthday before everything went to hell.

" _I wanna do a photo!"_

" _I don't know…"_

" _Come on, big bro! It's just a photo! Mom~…!"_

" _All right! All right! Gee, you're really pushy!"_

" _Yay!"_

Shaking his head, Makoto retreated out of the room and entered the so-called 'command room.' Inside was a giant computer. It had to have something about where they went.

With Pharos guiding his every action, Makoto searched every database he could on the computer. There were several things on shadows, the Dark Hour, Tartarus, and even Personas, but there was NOTHING on where they might have gone.

"Argh!" Frustrated, Makoto gave the computer a solid kick which left a noticeable dent on the surface. All of the hours of search, and it all amounted to nothing!

Where were they?! Where could they have gone?!

 _ **Shh, it's all right….**_ Pharos whispered to quell the boy's anger. _**Even if we don't know where they are, we still have something to bring them out.**_

Smiling beneath his mask, Makoto left the dorm as he prepared to put Pharos' next idea into fruition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd just like to point out that Makoto still smashed Junpei's laptop. Yeah, mindscrewed or not, there's no changing what he did.


	56. Chapter 56

_**Hideout** _

SEES gathered in what seemed to be this place's version of the command room for a team meeting. There was no need to ask what the meeting was about; everyone already knew.

"I believe that it is time that we discuss what to do about… _him."_ Mitsuru was the first to speak during the meeting. "Would anyone like to start us off?"

Mitsuru's question was only met with silence. Each one of them had considered what to do about Makoto and no one knew what to do about him. On one hand, he was a monster that had to be stopped at all costs. On the other, he was still a victim in all of this, and that was not even mentioning the fact that the only one alive that could hurt him was the last person who would want to do so.

Mitsuru let out a sigh, not too surprised by everyone's silence. "Shiomi, would you like to start us off?"

Kotone continued looking down, the decision of what to do played in her mind over and over on a loop. After a few moments, Kotone slowly shook her head.

"Kotone, you know him better than any of us," Akihiko said. "Is there anything you could tell us about him? We were already caught off guard when he started changing personas and using two at once."

"I don't know." Kotone slowly began to clench her fist, "I just… don't know."

"Let's move on to what we do know then," Mitsuru suggested. "Whatever that… _thing_ did to him, he's not in his right state of mind. While the details are unknown, the mask that he is currently wearing likely has something to do with it."

Junpei shuddered as the image of the mask's soulless eyes and unsettling grin flashed before his eyes. "That thing gives me the creeps. Something about it just seemed… wrong."

"Do you think he could go back to normal if we get the mask off him?" Fuuka asked.

"What Sakuya said before his death certainly supports that idea," Mitsuru bit her lip. "If only he survived. That way, he might have been able to provide me with or at least point me towards some of Ikutsuki's research on these things."

"Well," Yukari shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "there is _one_ person who might have an idea."

Everyone slowly turned their gaze towards Junpei, making obvious just who it was that they were thinking about. Junpei immediately jumped out of his seat.

"No way, it's not happening!" Junpei protested, showing an unusual amount of backbone, "she barely remembers anything during her time with the researchers anyway! Leave her out of this!"

"Relax, Iori," Mitsuru tried to calm the junior, "regardless, the fact remains that removing the mask remains the only way we can stop without also causing another… unwanted casualty."

"But how are we going to do that?" Ken asked. "We were barely able to get out of their alive, even after he had faced Strega, Sakuya, and Kotone-san. Even then, not all of us made it out."

Another moment of silence fell over everyone at the memory of Aigis' sacrifice. Kirijo was able to recover most of her parts but after what Makoto did to her, the odds were not too high for her.

Kotone could only tightly grip the edges of her skirt as she tried as hard as she could to think of what to do. When she tried reaching out to him and mentioning Minako, but it only ended with him lashing out in a fit of rage. If only there was some way…

"If only _he_ was still in there too," Kotone muttered to herself.

Everyone looked at her confused, "He? You mean Makoto?"

Kotone's eyes widened as she remembered an important detail about Makoto that she had never brought up before. She did not know when he learned that she knew about it, but she still kept his secret as closely guarded as he did. Now, she just might have to tell everyone for his sake.

Kotone sighed, "Okay, this… this might take a while to explain."

And with that, Kotone began to explain the secret she had been keeping from them ever since the encounter with Arcana Lovers.

* * *

_**Streets; Dark Hour** _

"Is there anything else?" The Reaper asked, having been drawn out of Tartarus by the orders of his prince.

"Hmm…" Pharos hummed to himself as he sat on the edges of the rooftop he was one. Before he answered, he sneaked a glance at Makoto who even in his feral state had a somewhat disturbed look about him. No doubt this had something to do with the words that that bitch had said earlier, but he did have a point.

"Avoid any casualties," Pharos ordered as he let out a sigh.

"Feeling merciful, Death?" The Reaper asked, noting the unusual trait.

"I merely want to avoid anything unnecessary," Pharos answered. "Their time will come eventually. After all, none escape the abyss that awaits them all."

"I see," The Reaper said, glancing at the streets below as dozens of shadows began to crawl out of Tartarus and into the city. "I think your sisters would enjoy this. Should we summon them as well?"

Pharos groaned as he shook his head, "Please no, I don't have the energy to deal with them physically or mentally."

As Pharos and The Reaper continued to banter, Makoto's eyes fixated on the nearby bridge; the bridge where his life had changed forever. It was there that he was born from pain and despair brought by the foundation that he and Inheritor shared. Even still, it was not until a few years later he adopted the name "Makoto Yuki."

Makoto sighed and watched the streets below as that day began to replay in his mind.

* * *

_**Years earlier** _

The young boy named Minato Arisato sat on the floor in front of the TV. He had been living with his maternal uncle for the past two years now and today was his ninth birthday; the second anniversary of his family's death.

To make things worse, Minato had learned the hard way that there was a reason why his mother did not ever mention her side of the family before. From what little he had been able to gather, his mother had run off or something to be with his father; a decision that her family seemed to hold against her and (unfortunately for him) Minato as well.

"Today's the anniversary, right?" A man with grey-ish eyes and dark blue hair said as he leaned into the sofa and sipped his glass of alcohol.

Minato nodded as he continued to look at the TV, "Yes, uncle Kazama."

"Two years, huh," Kazama chuckled to himself, "and to think, that's how long I've been keeping this little mirror around."

"Mirror…?" Minato looked back at his uncle confused.

"Kid, you have my side of the family's hair and your eyes are a couple of shades of the way from being exactly like mine," He explained with a sigh. "Your sister looks like that too?"

Minato looked down at the mention of her and let out a weak, "yes."

"Pf, don't get down like that." Kazama groaned, "Then again, you're probably the reason all of it happened too."

"What?" Minato looked up again, the mere mention of the idea causing his heart to sink and guilt to already well up.

"Well, it's just a theory of mine," Kazama said as he took another sip of his beverage. "See, you were born not too long after your mother ran off and married your father. That got me wondering, 'did she run off because she ended up getting pregnant with those two?'"

Kazama shrugged, "And they were on that bridge because they were coming home from your birthday party, right? Then if I'm right, that means that they'd still be around if you and your sis were never born, huh?"

Minato looked down with his eyes wide open as that idea quickly became the only thing he could think of. Not only was _her_ death all because of him, but now his parents might have been his too?!

No…

No…

No, he was to blame for many things but was not responsible for that! They would have been just fine if… if…

"Kid, move over. You're blocking the screen." Kazama ordered, acting as if nothing had ever happened. "C'mon, it's just a theory. No need to get so worked up over—"

"You're wrong."

Minato stood up and walked towards his uncle, stopping only when they were maybe half a meter away from each other, "if I was never born, they'd still be still alive… and so would you."

Minato looked up and his eyes began to glow a dim blue, "Thanatos."

Before Kazama could understand what was happening, he felt chains wrap around his throat before tightly constricting around it.

The man gripped the chains with his hands, desperately trying to free himself as he struggled with the chains. But no matter how hard he tried, nothing could break free from the grip of the monster growling behind him.

Kazama clawed at his chains and throat as he struggled to breathe. He reached out to the boy standing still in front of him, "Mi… na… to…"

"No," the boy shook his head. "Minato died with his family two years ago. From now on, you may call me Makoto Yuki."

Makoto chuckled, "Did you know that name can be interpreted as 'true courage,' uncle?" Makoto smiled to himself, unfazed by the sight in front of him, "But you don't know enough of what happened to understand the irony of that, do you?"

Makoto shook his head as he stood a step back, "Goodbye, uncle."

Kazama continued to struggle as the chains began to fasten their grip until a loud snap filled the room and he went completely limp.

Thanatos faded away as did the chains. No one would think a nine-year-old boy would have enough strength to kill a grown man. All he would have to say is that he was napping, called the police, and then he would be escorted somewhere else without any suspicion of being responsible.

"What are you going to do now?" Makoto turned to the direction of the voice and saw the same figure that had occasionally shown up ever since his family died.

"I'm done pretending to move on," Makoto answered. "I can't do it. I refuse to live knowing that the ones who caused _you_ and everything else to happen to get walk away!"

"So it's a quest for revenge?" The 'boy' asked.

"Revenge, justice, I don't care." Makoto turned to the ghostly figure with his eyes beginning to glow again in response to his emotional state. "They deserve to know all the pain I've felt. I won't let them get away with this!"

"You cannot do this on your own," the figure pointed out. "I can help you if you wish."

"You already have," Makoto said, glancing at his uncle's body. This death was nothing to Makoto; he and his uncle were blood, but they were not family.

"But if you wish to make up for what you did, then fine." Makoto tilted his head, "what do I call you, though?"

"Hmm…," the figure hummed for a moment before responding, "You may call me Pharos."

"All right then," Makoto said as he nodded and raised his hand, "so are ready to help me find those that did this?"

Pharos nodded and shook the boy's hand, "It's the least I can do. Everyone who has or will make you suffer will pay dearly."

* * *

_**Hideout** _

"Do you think that his other side will be able to help us?" Mitsuru asked, having heard Kotone's stories about her experiences with both Makoto and Minato.

"After last time, I don't know," Kotone shook her head. "It's at least something, right?"

Before anyone could say anything else, Fuuka who had been scanning with Juno ever since the Dark Hour settled gasped loudly.

"What is it, Yamagishi?!" Mitsuru asked, especially alert now more than ever with Makoto running about.

"I-It's The Reaper," Fuuka exclaimed, much to everyone's surprise.

"The Reaper…?" Ken repeated. One his first Tartarus expedition, he was warned by everyone to never stay on a floor for too long lest they feel the wrath of a powerful shadow.

"I thought that thing only stayed in Tartarus!" Junpei was the first to point out. It was rare for any shadow to come out of Tartarus, never mind something like The Reaper.

"That's not all! There are dozens of shadows too! They're ravaging the city!" Fuuka continued as the urgency of the situation set in.

"We can question why this is happening later," Mitsuru began to bark orders, "For now, we have to stop those shadows from killing any innocent people!"

Everyone quickly rushed to grab their weapons and Evokers as they bolted out of the door. It was not clear why this was happening, but they were ready for the fight of their lives.

…

…

But it was hardly a fight at all.

When they reached The Reaper, all of the shadows either blew themselves up or went down easier than even the ones on the lowest level of Tartarus.

The Reaper itself remained hard to take down, but it hardly fought either. It continued to rely mostly on its pistols and all of the shots seemed to conveniently miss. They landed close enough that the shots _could_ have been fatal if the shadow aimed a little better.

There were so many close calls during the fight… too many.

"Wait, wait…" Kotone ordered everyone as she stood in front of the Reaper. "Don't attack it anymore."

"Tch, foolish girl," The Reaper taunted as it aimed at the redhead, "you will be the first to die."

"Kotone, what are you doing!" Yukari screamed as her friend, but the redhead only continued to hold her hand up to signal for them to stay.

"You're bluffing," Kotone said as she locked eyes with The Reaper. "I've faced you before. You've been holding back this entire time."

"Is that what you think," The Reaper laughed, "What? Because I missed a few shots? You do remember that I'm shooting at moving targets with one eye, yes?"

"That didn't stop you that time you shot Minato when we went to save Fuuka," Kotone said, remembering the first time she saw Makoto's seemingly remarkable ability to heal. "Before that was the time you completely decimated us with just a few spells, yet now you've gotten oddly restrictive."

"Keep thinking that as I kill you," The Reaper replied.

"By all means, take the shot," Kotone urged, silently changing her persona to one that is resistant to piercing attacks just in case her hunch is wrong.

The Reaper remained to aim at Kotone for several moments before chuckling, "Hehe, I like you."

The shadow lowered its weapon and remained to hover in the air, "You are correct, I am under express orders not to end either of your lives. I was hoping to keep you in the dark, but it would seem I underestimated you. No matter what, my role is still complete. Now, it is time that you fulfill yours."

With that, The Reaper brought one of its pistols to its head and pulled the trigger, causing it to fade away.

"What the hell just happened?" Junpei asked.

"It means this is a trap," Kotone answered immediately. "We need to get back to the hideout right now!"

It was not hard to understand what she was beginning to imply. Was this all just a trick so that they would be away from their hideout? In that case, what was happening now that they were away?

Running back in a panic, they quickly ran back as fast as they could to the building they had been using as their hideout, only to discover…

… It was completely fine.

"Um, didn't you say it was a trap?" Fuuka asked, both confused and relieved that nothing so far has happened.

"Then what was that shadow talking about?" Mitsuru asked, as confused as everyone else was. "Could it have been lying?"

Junpei let out a relieved laugh, "Man that was scary! Pf, teaches you to believe a shadow, am I right?" He asked, relieved that Kotone's paranoia did not seem to be justified.

" _ **Your kind is so predictable."**_

As if on cue, Makoto jumped from the building behind them and stood between them and their hideout. Everyone's hearts sank as they realized what had just happened…

" _ **So this is where you've been."**_ Makoto turned to look at the building before looking back at SEES, _**"Thank you for leading us to it."**_

As soon as Pharos' sentence was over, a large purple-ish X began to form with the building at its center. In a sudden flash of light, the building had been reduced to nothing more than mere ashes. Not even a cloud of dust could be seen after the attack.

"H-He just…" Ken took a step back as his face paled, feeling a terror he had not felt ever since he watched his mother died all those years ago.

"H-How… How did…" Kotone's voice was trembling with the rest as Makoto stood there motionless.

" _ **I am a god and he is the chosen prince,"**_ Death answered, _**"ordering shadows around like lapdogs is child's play."**_

Death began to laugh, _**"My, looks like we have plenty of time before the Dark Hour ends. Not to mention, I don't think you have many to sacrifice. You could run now if you want, but I'll always follow until your legs can't carry you anymore."**_

The two white glowing orbs began to reform in the mask's black sockets as Makoto glared at SEES, _**"So what's it going to be? Fight and die? Or run and die a little later?"**_


	57. Chapter 57

_**Streets** _

Makoto extended his arm and his sword slowly began to materialize in his hand. Behind him was nothing more than a pile of ashes, dust, and flames replacing the building that had been there a few moments ago. Even after that, he was not panting or showing any signs of exhaustion.

Kotone gritted her teeth as she clutched onto the weapon in her hand. No matter where she went, he was going to follow them and pick them off one by one. Running was not an option, which meant that she could only do one thing…

"You guys can go if you want," Kotone warned her teammates. There was no way out of this for her, but it did not mean that they had to do this too.

"H-Hey, you're not thinking about to pull an Aigis, are you?" Junpei asked as everyone gave her the same look they gave Aigis.

"I'm the one that brought the monster out. None of you need to be in this." Kotone said as she glared not at the boy but at the mask that was on his face. Getting that off him was the only hope she had of getting him back to the way he was before.

"Don't be an idiot, Kotone!" Yukari berated her leader. "We're _not_ losing another friend again."

Kotone smiled as her teammates stood their ground by her side, "You guys are the best idiots I could ever ask for."

"We're a team Shiomi," Mitsuru said as she pointed her rapier at the boy in front of her, ready for Makoto to suddenly attack at any moment. "While he was never part of SEES, Arisato is still one of us."

Makoto instantly jumped into the air without any warning, targeting the two redheads who quickly scattered with the rest of the group leaving him in the center.

His eyes became fixated on the heiress and a dull pressure began to set in the area and the silhouette of the monster that was the cause of everything formed behind him, almost as if Makoto was nothing more than a puppet with Death moving the strings.

" _Don't_ call me that." His voice came out as a low growl full of hatred at being called by his old name. He had abandoned it years ago the day he killed his uncle and began his crusade, and to hear it again was nothing more than a reminder of everything he had lost.

 _So much for giving us a choice, huh?_ Kotone thought as she readied herself. They were going to have to make it so that this was the last battle between him and them. Somehow, they were going to have to get that mask off of him before the Dark Hour can pass.

" _ **Time for this all to end,"**_ Death whispered as Makoto stabbed his blade into the ground causing a sudden black shockwave to push everyone back and make them lose their footing.

Makoto was still fixated on Kotone and Kirijo. He made the mistake of diverting his attention last time, and he was not going to let them walk out of this alive.

Letting out a roar, Makoto rushed for his so-called beloved with his sword ready to slice her apart piece by piece.

But this time she was ready.

Kotone moved quickly on her feet and slipped past her possessed lover's attacks. Luckily, the injuries she caused to him last time must have still been affecting him, slowing him enough that none of his follow up attacks could land on her either.

Evading one last uppercut slash from Makoto, Kotone dashed forward and used the naginata Igor had given her to slice through his leg. Even though she could not bring herself to kill him, she knew that she was going to have to slow him down at least.

"Grgh…!" Makoto held back a scream as he took a step back and placed a hand on his injured leg. When he slowly removed the hand from his leg, he could see that his leg was still bleeding and that none of Death's regenerative abilities were working on this wound either.

" _ **How did—"**_ Death was cut off when Akihiko suddenly tackled Makoto from behind and restrained his arms.

Makoto twists and turned his body as quickly as he could to break free from the restraint. Alas, the boy's injuries mixed with the boxer's strength let it difficult for him to break out of.

"Do it! Get it off now!" Akihiko screamed to his teammates as he struggled to keep the boy restrained.

Makoto growled as the boxer's words made him struggle harder, refusing to go through the pain that removing the mask would put him through.

Junpei quickly ran to the boy to pull the mask off of him, but Makoto only squirmed more and more which rendered it impossible to get a grip of the mask.

Seeing an opportunity to break free, Makoto jumped and kicked Junpei away and forced Akihiko to take a few steps back into a wall of a building.

With Akihiko's grip weakened, Makoto leaned forward and quickly reeled his head back with enough force that he could feel Akihiko's nose break as he hit the wall again.

Disoriented after having the back of his head hit the wall, Akihiko could do nothing as Makoto was finally able to break free.

Dashing forward as fast as he could with his injured leg and old wounds that had resumed bleeding again, Makoto raised sword in preparation to attack the capped boy who dared to attempt to remove his face.

Before Makoto could reach him, Junpei was joined by Ken who thrust his spear into Makoto's chest. Unlike Kotone, none of SEES had to hold back when fighting him as long as he could still heal from everything they did to him, which made normally fatal wounds like this about as harmless as a scratch.

Makoto growled as he clawed at the spear that had lodged itself between his ribs, unable to either break the spear or reach for the boys on the other side.

Before Makoto could rip the spear out of him, a burst of wind suddenly lifted him into the air and launched him a fair distance away into a nearby lamppost which broke on impact.

"Tch…" Makoto grunted as he slowly stood himself up and glared at SEES as his blood continued to drip both old and new wounds.

"Please tell me we have a plan this time," Yukari asked as she steadied an arrow on the hooded boy.

"You guys can go all out—I can't," Kotone said as she eyed the blood on the edge of her blade that made her bite her lip as she remembered that the real Makoto likely felt all of the pain she just inflicted on him.

"Keep him busy and I'll try to wear him down," Kotone continued. "Maybe try getting him hurt enough that we can get that thing off of him while he's healing or something."

"Understood," Mitsuru nodded in agreement with the rest of the team who noticed something forming in the sky.

"Last Judge," Makoto whispered as a massive hammer formed in the clouds above and slammed its way down towards the Prince's enemies.

"Watch out!" Fuuka warned her teammates just before the hammer began to move to give them just enough time to avoid being crushed to death.

Kotone and the rest of the team stumbled when the hammer struck the ground behind them. As they tried to figure out what exactly had happened, Kotone spotted Makoto dashing towards them again.

Before he could get close enough to do any damage, Koromaru spotted the threat in time and ordered Cerberus to tackle Makoto to the ground.

With Makoto struggling to break free, Cerberus dug one of his jaws into each arm to keep him restrained. Even though Makoto was strong enough to even overpower Aigis, the persona's strength combined with the wounds that were never given time to heal was too much for the boy to break free from.

From behind Cerberus, Death appeared with its wings outstretched and its sword nowhere to be seen.

Grabbing the neck of the two heads that were biting into his friend, Death pulled the guard dog of Hades off while sinking its jaws into the persona's free center head and tearing it off.

Putting its foot on the persona's main body, Death pulled hard on the two heads that had dared to harm Makoto until they too were ripped apart and the persona was forced to be recalled.

Barely having enough time to get on his feet, Makoto was caught off guard when he felt something slice through his back.

Letting out a suppressed scream, Makoto quickly turned around and saw it was Mitsuru who was about to attack again.

With the threat recognized, Makoto easily parried the attack with his sword. Unleashing a flurry of his attacks, Mitsuru was quickly pushed further and further back and her footing became more and more unsteady.

Before he could deliver a potentially fatal blow, Makoto barely had enough time to see the naginata on his right until it sliced through his shoulder.

Letting out a scream that was slightly muffled through his mask, Makoto took a step back and put his hand on his shoulder.

That did nothing to stop Kotone from attacking again, this time aiming for the mask on his face. Unfortunately, all that attack could do was slice through the hood the boy was wearing while the mask was completely unharmed—not even a scratch was left on the mask's surface.

Following up the attack was Yukari who fired an arrow straight into the boy's good leg and had her persona launch him near more of her teammates that were ready to attack.

Not long after hitting the ground, Makoto spotted Hermes just a few moments before he was suddenly engulfed in an inferno.

Just a few moments after the attack had started Death reappeared from the flames and easily cut the persona down in a single strike from his broadsword.

From the side came Caesar who was about to perform a similar attack, but his attack was blocked when Orpheus Kai appeared with his lyre.

After blocking the attack, Orpheus Kai transformed into Thor who swung his hammer and knocked the Roman away.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Makoto turned to see Ken running towards him with his spear ready. Before the spear could pierce the boy's flesh, Makoto simply grabbed the spear with his free hand.

Ken pulled to free his spear from his senior's grip, but Makoto simply held on almost effortlessly to the weapon.

Makoto used his sword to cut off the tip of the weapon which left Ken's spear essentially useless. Disarmed and helpless, Ken was helpless when Makoto kicked the elementary student away.

Makoto reached up and tore off what was left of his hood, exposing his black hair and the unnaturally pale skin on his neck.

Turning his head, Makoto spotted his 'girlfriend' running for him again. Makoto let out another soft growl before charging to meet her attack head-on.

Letting a familiar dark magic coat his blade again, Makoto met her attack blow for blow. Whatever Kotone's new weapon was made from, it was not going to be easy to simply cut it in half and ending her.

Again and again, Makoto attacked only to be parried by the auburn-haired girl. If his attack was not parried, then it was evaded entirely as his body slowly began to slow down more and more as he continued to lose blood and Kotone managed to inflict one small injury after the other.

After several moments of this stalemate, Makoto's sword intercepted Kotone's next attack only to suddenly feel the pain of being shocked by several volts of electricity which left him stunned.

"Senpai, now…!" Kotone shouted as she quickly jumped several feet away from Makoto.

Recovering from the (literal) shock, Makoto had just moments to glace at Mitsuru with Penthesilea before he was forced to endure a gruesome All-Out attack.

Penthesilea unleashed a barrage of ice crystals onto the boy, much like what Kotone had done to him the night before with enough force to leave him suspended off the ground.

Before he could begin to descend to the ground, Hermes caused an explosion with Makoto at the center which sent him flying helplessly in the air as the rest of SEES prepared their attack.

As she was using her persona to help rejuvenate her teammates, Yukari used Io to direct Makoto towards the rest of them to finish the attack.

Firing his Evoker, Ken summoned Kala-Nemi who charged into the vulnerable persona-user before he could have a chance to recover. Outside of Kotone, none of the injuries that were inflicted upon him were going to stick very long so they needed to act quickly.

Still, in mid-air, Caesar similarly attacked the boy to Kotone with amplifying his attack with electricity—both harming him and leaving him unable to do anything as the final blow was delivered.

Howling loudly, Koromaru summoned Cerberus who delivered one more explosion of fire at the boy that immediately sent him crashing into the ground hard enough that everyone could hear the sick snapping sounds of multiple bones breaking.

After delivering what might have been the most painful attack SEES had ever delivered, they gathered around Makoto both to prepare themselves for a counter-attack and to make sure they had not done anything _too_ brutal _._

"D-Did we do too much..?" Fuuka questioned as the fear of the worst-case scenario began to play into her mind.

Had they taken Pharos' constant healing of Makoto for granted?

Had they inflicted so much damage that he simply could not heal fast enough?

Had they done so much that it simply wore them both out?

"Y-You…" A low whisper could be heard as the dust settled, revealing Makoto in a pool of his blood.

"K-Kill…. You…." Makoto continued to whisper as he tried to get up only to continuously slip in the thick crimson liquid that had been spilt as his bones tried desperately to put themselves back together in their proper place.

The team was briefly paralyzed as they continued to watch the boy try in vain to stand, again and again, only to fall and re-break his healing bones again.

However, it was then that Kotone saw her chance.

"Akihiko, Tarunda him right now!" Kotone ordered as she fired her Evoker and ordered cast Tarukaja on herself as she dashed towards the injured boy; she was going to need all the strength she could get right now.

Taking advantage of the boy's injured state, Kotone gripped onto the mask as hard as she could a desperately tried to pull it off of him as the boy struggled to break free.

Death appeared immediately but was soon confronted by the rest of SEES who were doing everything they could to keep it separate from Kotone and Makoto.

After several moments of struggling, Makoto let out a bloodcurdling scream as the mask was torn from his face causing his blood to splatter everywhere and for him to use Garu on himself as he screamed and hissed in pain.

"Makoto…?" Kotone looked down at the mask that was still in her hands and saw that his blood was now covering her hands. Seeing this and seeing him with his back turned to her as he continued to cry out in pain made her realize just what she had made him suffer through.

Dropping the mask onto the floor, Kotone slowly approached the boy with unsteady footsteps as she imagined the pain she had just put him through. Even if Pharos heals that, he likely was not going to be the same mentally after going through that type of agony.

Kotone reached her hand out to him, but her heart sank as she spotted him looking back at her with bright yellow eyes.

With his face healed in a matter of seconds, Makoto stood up and glared at the entirety of SEES.

"That…"

" _ **Really…"**_

"Really…"

" _ **HURT…!"**_

"I-It didn't…" Almost everyone stuttered together as Makoto took a step forward with his yellow eyes and the familiar large silhouette stood just above him.

"I-It didn't work…" Kotone gulped as she and the others realized what they had just done. They did not just hurt him; they had just managed to anger both him and the monster inside him in one fell swoop.

An intense pressure began to set in the area that could be felt in everyone's stomach as they remembered one fact—they were not just fighting a persona-user, they were fighting a persona user with a god of Death.

" _ **I never wanted to use this, but now… Now I just want to see all of you suffer."**_ Death whispered as Makoto's lips curled into a small smirk at what was about to happen.

Kotone looked behind her and saw that her entire team had suddenly fallen to the group seemingly in pain. Before she could even question what was happening, she saw their personas appear with each letting out a loud shriek as if they were in pain as well.

"W-What did you do to them?!" Kotone glared at the silhouette that continued to hang above.

" _ **Simple, we're making them endure the same amount of despair that he has been feeling for the past decade."**_ Death answered as its figure seemingly glanced at the writhing children, _**"It's so much that their personas can't even take it. If this goes on for much longer, becoming one of the Lost is the best they can hope for."**_

"Y-You mean…" Kotone desperately reached for her Evoker, "I-I…"

" _ **Think a Me Patra will fix that? Truly,"**_ Death laughed. _**"That's not going away unless *I* want it too… or if you can stop both of us by yourself."**_

Kotone took another step back as the figure fully materialized into the physical plane again and then the gravity of the situation finally set in.

It was either settle it here, or her friends die at best.

Running was not an option this time.

It was just her versus the monster that Death had transformed Makoto into.

The mask was off, but it did not matter.

No matter what she did, someone was not going to walk out of this alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof... imagining Mina with his face torn off is a little hard. Damn, that must've sucked.


	58. Chapter 58

_**Streets** _

" _ **Hehe… haha… HAHAHAHAHA…!"**_ Death laughed as it saw the look of horror on Kotone's face combined with the sight of SEES in agony as their personas shrieked in pain. There was something cathartic about seeing life slowly choke out of all of them and Kotone being the only one left.

" _ **So what will you do?"**_ Death whispered as Kotone continued to watch her friends writhe in pain. _**"Will you try to kill your so-called beloved? Or will you allow us to slay you for the slim chance that we might spare SOME of them?"**_

Kotone slowly reached for her weapon that had been discarded onto the floor when she went to pull the mask off Makoto—some good that did.

She knew she could not run away from this fight. If she did, her friends were either going to die or share the same fate as the Lost. She had to do something, but what could she do? Was she going to have to…?

Makoto took a step forward, summoning his sword in his right hand that reflected some of the green-ish moonlight from the Dark Hour. It was almost impossible to believe that this was the girl that caused him to become so confused about where his loyalties lied, which led to all of this.

He felt something tugging from the back of his mind as he continued to stare emptily at the unfolding events. Something was whispering for him to stop himself, Pharos, everything. But it was hopeless to try and stop him now. He had passed the point of no return the moment he first put the mask on.

Kotone could not stop her knees from shaking as she aimed the tip of her weapon at Makoto. Was this how everything was going to end between them? Was she going to have to kill him to save her friends?

Was there no other choice?

She could not just let herself die. After all, that monster was likely to slaughter all of them like pigs, and that is just if they are lucky.

Yet, at the same time, it is not like she could just kill him either. Even discounting their relationship, the only thing he did wrong was being at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was that _thing_ that made him into what he was now.

Unfortunately, she doubted she could just kill _it_ either. Even if she—by some miracle—managed to severely wound Death, it could probably just retreat into Makoto like the parasite it was. If that was true, then all that would do is leave her completely exhausted, leave Makoto into an even worse fit of feral rage, and/or in the same situation that she is in now.

There had to be _something_ she could do about this without anyone dying. If only she could just find a way to weaken that thing enough that her friends would be okay.

Kotone's eyes widened as the memory of Makoto's brief stay at the dorm flashed through her eyes. Whenever Makoto was disoriented from his medicine or unconscious, the most Pharos could do was heal Makoto's wounds and glare at everyone silently.

Kotone's eyes traveled down to the weapon in her hands as she inspected it. The bladed edge has already proven that whatever Igor did to make this thing, it made sure that whatever injuries it inflicted on Makoto were not going to just be shrugged off. When Makoto tried severing this thing into pieces with his sword, it still managed to stay in one piece so the blade's properties likely apply to the rest of the weapon too. If that is the case, maybe the grip could be used as a blunt object and can knock him out with a strong blow to the head? True or not, she was still going to have to use the blade to weaken him enough so that she could even have a chance of doing that.

It was not much to go on, but for now, it was the only hope she had of getting everyone out of this.

 _ **I want her in pieces…**_ Death whispered. _**I want nothing more than to know her the sight of her own blood. Maim her. Ravage her. Leave her begging for death. Make it so that you become one and one thing only to her—Death incarnate.**_

Taking off at almost inhuman speeds, in almost no time at all Makoto closed the short distance between him and his 'girlfriend.'

Still having the benefit of him being weakened by a Tarunda that had not worn off as of yet, Kotone was able to raise her guard just in time to withstand the vicious assault from the boy.

She could not tell if removing the mask was more of a blessing or a curse, because now she saw just how much of a stranger he had become. His eyes were now an unnatural gold and were purely focused on her like how one would focus on an old and hated enemy.

She made one mistake, however.

Makoto may have been feral, but he was _not_ as mindless as he would have her led to believe.

Raising his sword over his head and striking downwards, Makoto allowed Kotone to parry it by raising her naginata just like he hoped.

Using his other hand, Makoto rammed his fist straight into Kotone's stomach as hard as he could with the Tarunda weakening him.

Choking as the air was knocked out of her; Kotone hunched over in pain and gave Makoto just the opportunity he needed.

Makoto quickly wound up his blade to his left and aimed for her throat as she looked up just in time to see him set his attack into motion. Just one strike to the throat and this ten-year conquest would finally…

_Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!_

Suddenly, Makoto had completely become frozen as the blade stopped so it was now gently pressing against the side of her neck.

Kotone slowly began to open her eyes and saw him trembling as if his body and mind were disagreeing with what the correct course of action was. His eyes were now flickering between the bright gold and the bright blue that occasionally showed whenever he summoned his personas without too much of Death's influence.

"Minato…?" She called out weakly as she gently pushed the blade away from her neck and the flickering in his eyes began to increase in intensity.

After a few more seconds, Makoto took a step back and with a scream, Kotone felt pushed back by an invisible force.

Growling and annoyed at the implications of what had just happened, Death flapped its wings and rushed towards the redhead. Too many times this leaping fish as escaped the cold embrace of death, and now it was time for it all to end.

Lying on her back as she hit the floor, Kotone saw the monster heading towards her and she reached for her Evoker.

"P-Persona…" She whispered as she pulled the trigger, the attack still leaving her trying to catch her breath.

Before Death's blade could reach her, Siegfried intercepted the blade with his own, barely managing to stop the absurd amount of force that the god had put into that swing.

Growling in annoyance, Death sprouted chains from his back that had not been seen since it took the form of Thanatos.

With several chains sprouting from Death's back, Siegfried prepared himself as all of the chains went straight for him.

At first, it was easy to cut through all of the chains that attempted to restrain and/or wrap themselves around him. No matter how many chains tried to attack him, they were easily destroyed by a single strike.

But all that did was make things easier for Death.

With the persona distracted by the chains, Death rushed forwards and caught his head between its jaws. It barely took any effort for it to crush its head, forcing the persona to be recalled to his user.

Despite the burn from her persona's pain, Kotone was able to prepare herself when she saw Makoto running for her again with the same murderous intent he had earlier.

Leaping into the air again, Makoto did his best to suppress the presence tugging at the back of his mind as he prepared to strike again.

Recognizing the threat and the fact Minato was not going to stop him this time, Kotone rolled away mere seconds before Makoto and his strike could land where she had been.

 _Goddammit, stop!_ Makoto felt his head pounding as his other-self fought every action he made. Even still, there was no going back now; he was so close, and Makoto was not going to let anyone get in the way anymore—not even her nor his other side.

"Just… end…" Makoto whispered as he refocused on Kotone. "So long… too long… just… end…"

Kotone spat out the little bit of blood in her mouth and gauged his expression. Makoto was currently a madman and had not a semblance of sanity left but this…. This was something different than the usual insanity, his twitches and scowls indicated that something or someone was trying to hold him back from the inside.

Seeing the little chance, Kotone gave a short prayer and started running towards the currently dazed persona user, forcing him to focus when her footsteps echoed in the dead of the night. He pulled back just in time to avoid her lunging slash but Kotone immediately pulled her blade back and launched it into his shoulder.

Makoto hissed in pain and drew back, clutching his busted shoulder and launching himself forward to punch her head off but this time, for some reason, he felt…. slower….

Kotone saw the punch coming a lot easier than last time and moved her head to avoid the strike. She swiped his legs from under him and backtracked to gain distance, panting because she was exhausted but finally, his little stumble and suddenly slow down gave her some hope.

"Alright," Kotone said to herself as she watched him get back up, visibly slower than the last times he had sprung up in seconds. She glanced at the naginata in her grip and nodded to herself. There was no way in hell she was going to kill him, no chance but… that didn't mean she couldn't disable him temporarily…

"Sorry Minato," Kotone muttered a small apology and braced herself for a few more minutes of a chaotic battle. "I swear, this is just for you."

Makoto winced at the pressure on the back of his head, the voice of Pharos yelling into his mind and Kotone just standing there. He tried to control himself but seconds later, he ended up losing it as he roared out loud in her direction.

"Time to bring you back," Kotone promised and started running in response to his charge.

The two met briefly, blade to blade until Makoto pulled his weight forward and swiftly overpowered Kotone who didn't struggle much, instead she was happy to disengage and pull back just when he lunged in with a slash. The momentum and rush made him stumble and Kotone cracked him on the jaw with a short knee strike which sent him staggering backward.

 _ **FO-CUS,**_ Pharos' voice was cut midway through but Makoto managed to get the gist of it, moving his body to avoid the slash that Kotone launched for his arms. He blocked the blunt end with his forearm and launched his blade towards her throat which Kotone blocked with her naginata.

"Ugh."

"Shit…"

Makoto saw the little opening and threw his fist forward but just like before, as soon as he did, the pressure increased and it threw his aim off. Kotone ducked under the attempt and kicked him hard between the legs with a painful thud sound that echoed in the area followed by Makoto slumping down to his knees.

Kotone attempted another knee strike but was blown away by a small explosion of darkness which gave Makoto enough time to scamper away and try to get his faculties in order. He started this battle fresh and he didn't even suffer much damage but for some reason, he was slowing down, his limbs were freezing in the middle of attacks and Pharos' voice was getting blocked by something else.

What the heck was going on here?

Kotone made up her mind and rushed forward, stopping at a distance just a few feet away and jabbing her blade forward, narrowly missing Makoto who slipped the thrust, almost kicking the naginata out of her hands until she drew back and blocked his sword with the blunt end of her weapon, brushing it to the side and getting a punch in the middle of her nose which sent her stumbling.

Kotone winced due to the damage but at the same time, she dug her knee into his stomach, getting a grunt of pain followed by a pant as if he was out of breath. She drew back to avoid a swing and hopped a few times, she couldn't kick well but at the very least, her knees would be useful at close range.

She could see it now, slowly but surely Makoto was breaking down. She didn't know what the heck was going on but the bluenette was slowing down as his punches lacked the usual power and quickness. She didn't have time to dwell on the reasons and she quickly closed the distance again, stopping and stabbing the blade towards his limbs.

Makoto winced at the first stab, to his right arm and moved back, looking to rush forward and start his attack but the moment he did, Kotone started jabbing the blade towards his throat, forcing him to stop and guard. Kotone saw the chance and crashed her knee against his gut before quickly drawing back to avoid his counter attack, a lunging slash that she ducked under and moved out of the way.

_**KILL HER!** _

Kotone gasp and her eyes snapped open when he came running, drawing back on his fist and managing to stun her with a hard straight which sent her stumbling backward but unlike before, she quickly gathered her senses and dodged the next shot, focusing on his injured arm and slicing open a new wound which drew the ire of the possessed persona user.

Makoto kicked her a good distance away and Kotone landed with a painful grunt. She looked ahead and saw him in a position to summon. Upon seeing that, she grabbed her blade and quickly bolted over to him, disrupting his attention and launching a slew of rapid thrusts, mainly towards his two arms.

Makoto fought back and blocked the thrusts, still concerned when she jabbed at his throat only to close in and knee his stomach and every time she did that, Makoto stopped moving, he stopped defending and attacking and tried to not collapse down. Those repeated gut strikes were brutal to endure.

Kotone yelped when the next strike sent her to the ground and Makoto jumped on her, looking to end the fight but the redhead quickly grabbed her blade and swung it, opening a shallow wound just under her eye and then kicking him as hard as she could in the gut, knocking him on his ass.

Kotone got up and charged, slamming her knee into the side of his temple and knocking him back down but as she tried to get out of range, Makoto grabbed his senses and her ankles, almost stabbing the blade into the back of her thigh until she knocked dust into his eyes and ran off.

Makoto grunted and tried getting up, that unknown voice more prominent than the voice of Pharos who was growling as if he too was fighting someone else.

Kotone saw the little flicker of doubt and confusion and immediately moved in, going back to moving forward while still being at range, repeatedly firing her long-range weapon to keep him on his toes, exhaust him so she could have an easier time breaking him down.

It hurt. Listening to him growl and wince whenever she sliced his arms or the loud gasp whenever she kneed his gut but this had to be done.

It had to be done.

Kotone was caught off guard by the rushing strike that planted her on the ground. She widened her eyes and ducked underneath the sphere of darkness and a second later, Makoto tackled her, almost stabbing her wrist until she rolled away and got kicked to the side.

"Come forth-"

Kotone yelled and got in his face again, slamming her knee into his chest this time and that completely took the breath out of him, leaving him a daze but the voice of Pharos yelled at him to charge and he did, blindly, missing Kotone who easily saw through his aggressive moment and snapped to the side, closing her eyes, wincing and then plunging the blade into his right arm-

Makoto screamed out in utmost agony and Kotone knocked him back down, remorseful of the fact that she had disabled his right arm but… now she was getting a few ideas about what was going on….

 _He_ was in this too.

"Sorry," she said her apologies and kicked him a few feet away. "And thank you."

Makoto got up and screamed back at her, making her bite her lip because the yell was of agony like he was in utmost pain but couldn't form the words to describe it. She shook her head and reminded herself of the bigger goal. She was okay with exhausting herself daily to heal him with spells but as long as Pharos was around, Makoto was never going to heal mentally.

Her friends were never getting back up to her feet.

She had to bring Pharos down and to do that…. She had to bring _Makoto_ down as well.

Temporarily, of course….

The two moved at the same time, with Makoto switching the sword into his other hand because the healing was taking time for some goddamn reason and thanks to that, Kotone saw the slashes coming to a lot easier, allowing her to time and strike back with knee strikes to his gut and sides.

Makoto channeled a burst of darkness into his mostly damaged arm and the spell exploded against Kotone's stomach, sending the girl back first into a nearby tree. She coughed out blood when he bolted and kneed her in the chest, keeping her still against the tree and holding up his sword for the finishing blow.

But…

The sight of Kotone coughing out blood made him halt, his hearing numb to the voice of Pharos which demanded him to finish the job but…

Makoto started shaking.

Shaking in remorse.

Shaking in defiance.

The force lessened and Kotone freed herself, using the tree for support she jumped up and almost knocked a tooth out when she crashed her knee into his jaw. Makoto got his senses back and launched the long-overdue slash which Kotone ducked under and it ended up hitting the tree behind her, giving the possessed persona user a small whiplash and that was enough for Kotone to move and rest.

The girl panted in exhaustion and pain but she could see her enemy was showing worse effects of this long battle. She could almost see a semblance of sanity in his eyes now, she could almost see….

"You…" Kotone whispered in surprise. She was broken out of her thoughts when the male opposite to her gave another scream, forcing her back in action. Now aware of her path to victory, Kotone gave no shits about damage and charged headfirst at the much stronger persona user.

Makoto was broken out of his summoning when she crashed the blunt end into his chest, moving him backward. He saw her coming in and started to swing the blade with his left arm, leading to a clash of metal several times. The two kept up the same pace, both on the defensive with minimal damage being dealt but eventually…

Makoto looked down and widened his eyes to see that he was moving backward.

He looked forward…

Kotone was the one pushing forward….

Kotone reversed her weapon and smashed the other end of her naginata to the side of his neck, getting a slice to her shoulder but she brushed it off and dragged him close, slamming her knees nonstop into his gut until Makoto drilled a darkness infused punch into her gut which sent her up in the air, defenseless.

"Get… Lost…." Makoto was just about ready to summon and slice her in two but the other-self assaulted him again and he lost focus, harshly brought back to reality by Kotone's yell.

The redhead chewed on her lip and came back down with a vertical slash that ended up gashing his other arm and caused a gush of the red liquid that stained his clothes. Makoto was rendered dumb by the pain, with his eyes almost bulging out of the sockets because everything was just about ready to reach the breaking point.

"You're there, aren't you?" Kotone swiped the legs from under him and he crashed down, growling and yelling in pain like a wounded animal. She whimpered his senseless cries and stood over him, a part of her yelling to summon a person and heal her goddamn boyfriend who was losing his life but….

Pharos was still there.

But then again…

So was _he_ ….

"Hehe…" Kotone managed a smile. There was still hope. Hope to win the battle and hope to bring Minato back….

She avoided the pounce and moved back again, her eyes begging to be close because the long battle had taken a lot out of her. Physically she was dead tired but mentally…. She was sure that her mental state was in far better shape than Makoto's….

The deranged male screamed at her yet again and Kotone was ready for his rush. She had damaged both of his arms and yet he was still trying to cleave her in two. She shook her head at the slow attempt and reversed her weapon and getting into close range, smashing the other end of the naginata and her knee into his stomach again and again and again….

Makoto hacked and coughed out; losing the endurance and his senses with every shot he endured. His battered arms had nowhere near the strength and speed and whenever he even tried to heal, Kotone was onto him, suffocating him with knees and halfhearted slashes meant to drain the stamina out of him.

"Come on." Kotone started talking as she dodged his attacks. She almost kicked the sword out of his grip and Makoto hurled him forward while holding his fist in position to knock her out…

"HIT ME!"

Kotone's yell froze him in place, the other side of his soul finally taking over for a brief moment and ordering her.

"FINISH IT!"

Kotone closed in and sliced open his leg, slamming her knee as hard as she could into his gut one last time and flinging her blade upwards, open a long gash from his chest to his shoulder. The shower of blood nearly made her sob but she listened to _him_ and buffed her right leg with a power charge, pulling it back and launching it forward at full speed and power. Makoto did not see it coming and left open, the kick broke a few of his ribs and finally drained the last bit of stamina out of his system with the force and impact of the kick sending far, far away from the redhead who collapsed to a knee and then down to her hands, exhausted but satisfied that victory was just a step away.

That last attack had damaged him badly. She even heard the little brat scream in pain because the agony went up to his soul.

Kotone looked up and thanked _him_ for interfering, thanked him for slowing Pharos down because without him… she would have been dead long ago.

"Almost over." she huffed. She was holding in her cries for the past several minutes. As soon as this battle was done, she was prepared to let loose her emotions and heal him no matter what.

 _ **"** **That… was unpleasant."**_ Death growled as he reappeared in front of his injured 'friend.' It was a mistake leaving Makoto to fight her all on his own, a mistake that it fully intended to rectify. By now, she must be exhausted; it will be easy to deliver the killing blow.

Stretching its wings and letting out a loud screech, Death prepared itself to charge at the annoyed redheaded girl. Once she was gone, her team will follow and this long journey will finally reach its conclusion.

Reaching for her Evoker, putting it to her head and firing, Kotone summoned Chernobog again to meet the monster's charge. It might have made more sense to summon Siegfried again, but if she can just get one opening, she knows that she can win this.

The Black God's blade clashed with the God of Death's broadsword. Both sides pushed against the other with all the strength they could muster, seemingly ending in a stalemate.

However, Death was not going to let itself fail so easily.

Grabbing onto the Black God's blade with its bare hand, Death sunk its teeth into his shoulder. Kotone couldn't hold back a scream as she felt her persona's agony. Death applied more pressure with its jaws before ripping the persona's entire limb off its body.

With the persona still screaming in pain and Kotone distracted by the burn, Death merely had to give itself an extra push by flapping its wings to knock the persona a few yards back. And now, Kotone was exposed and too exhausted to run away. Now was the perfect time to strike.

Seeing the monster raise its blade over its head, Kotone closed her eyes as she braced herself for what about to come next. "I tried as hard as I could… sorry, Minato."

" _ **Grgh...!"**_ Kotone opened her eyes as soon as she heard the scream and saw Death clutching its head and continuing to scream in pain. When she looked back at Makoto, he saw him doing the same thing as if mirroring Death—No, Death was reacting to Makoto's pain.

Knowing she had _him_ to thank for this and seeing the chance she needed, Kotone was able to sustain the heavily injured Chernobog to use one last attack.

Writhing around and wildly swinging his blade from the pain, Death was barely able to focus enough to see the particles of blue-ish light quickly beginning to gather into one collective mass.

With the agonizing pain rendering it unable to move, Death had no choice but to take the full brunt of the Megidola, blasting it several feet away and forming a large crater in the street.

"A-Argh… Grgh…" Grunting in pain, Makoto clutched onto his head with both of his hands as he felt so much pressure pressing onto his brain he almost thought he would die then and there.

_I-I… won't… let you…._

Mirroring one another, Death and Makoto both look up at the sky and released one last ear-piercing screech in agony.

And then it was all over.

Death faded away as it was forced to retreat to its 'home.' Makoto's eyes reverted to their usual blue-grey, his black hair became a dark blue once again, and his Thanatos-esque garb faded away leaving him in the same clothes he had worn when he left the dorm—only now with several signs of wear and tear from the fighting that had been going on ever since. Almost immediately after, Makoto fell to the ground completely unconscious.

"M-Minato!" Moving as fast as she could, Kotone ran to the boy's side and was relieved to find that was still breathing. Even still, he had several injuries from the fighting tonight and even the ones from the night before were still bleeding.

With Death being forced to retreat and weakened by Makoto's loss of consciousness, everyone in SEES felt the feeling of pure despair finally leave them and their personas stopped screaming in pain and returned to their masters. With them freed from what Death had done to them, they were quick to notice their leader sitting beside the unconscious, bleeding boy.

"W-What happened?" Fuuka was the first to ask, feeling the life slowly ebbing away from him with each passing moment.

"I-I don't know," Kotone shook her head. "We were fighting and then his other started to fight him too, and he just… broke."

"Like… a mental breakdown?" Mitsuru followed up as she surveyed the area, knowing that there was very likely going to be chaos for the next few weeks after all of the damage that occurred so 'suddenly' city throughout the city.

Kotone simply shook her head again, not knowing exactly just what was going on in that fragmented mind of his. No matter what it was, there was no telling what exactly happened until he woke up.

… If he wakes up.

With the thoughts of his injuries returning, Kotone quickly turns to her teammates. "W-We have to get him to a hospital!"

Kotone's mind seemed to go blank as she was overcome with a sense of familiarity with everything. This was so much like what they had just experienced with Shinjiro a few weeks before. Knowing there was still going to be several more minutes until the Dark Hour ended, everyone did what they could to stabilize the boy as best they could. However, they also had to carry and move into another part of the city, lest they'd be connected to what had happened particularly on this side of the city.

She didn't know exactly how long this went on. It was long enough for the Dark Hour to end and for them to call an actual ambulance. They were able to make up some story about how some punks decided tonight were a good night to cause some mayhem all over Iwatodai. Luckily, there were a few others who were harmed (but not killed) to make the story a bit more believable.

SEES was just going to have to stay for a few hours or maybe a night or two given their injuries. Minato/Makoto, however, would be forced to stay there until he regained consciousness again.

Amid everything, there was one thing Kotone had realized that continued to fester at the back of her mind. After pulling it off and discarding it to the ground… she never _did_ find out what happened to that mask.


	59. Chapter 59

_**Hospital** _

Kotone sat quietly in a chair and listened to the constant annoying beeping of all the machines the boy in front of her was hooked up to. It had been a day or two since their big fight in the streets and he still hadn't woken up for even a few seconds.

Despite everything that had happened, she still sat there waiting for him to wake up. She stared at the bandages that covered all of the various stitches from the cuts she had inflicted on him. Minato may have been the reason the fight ended, but she was the reason that he had to endure all of the pain.

No, all of that was _its_ fault. It was its fault that Makoto lost his family. It was its fault that Makoto went down the dark path he did all by himself. It was its fault that the boy named Minato became two separate pieces. It was its fault that she had to fight him. Everything was that monster's fault.

Kotone briefly looked behind her and saw another girl's eyes staring back in her direction—but not at her.

"You can see _him,_ " Kotone asked Chidori who was sitting in her hospital bed silently. "Can't you?"

Chidori shook her head, never taking her eyes off a particular spot by Makoto's bedside next to Kotone.  
"I do not see him anymore than you do. Rather, I just… feel the emptiness around him."

"That's probably why Fuuka couldn't detect him when he didn't want to be noticed," Kotone thought out loud as she combed her fingers through the boy's hair, "normally she detects any signs of life, but he's just devoid of… anything."

"He killed Takaya and Jin, didn't he?" Chidori bluntly asked the question, her voice still maintaining her usual soft-spoken demeanor. She didn't sound heartbroken or even moved, it had just… happened.

"Junpei told you, huh," Kotone replied as she slowly nodded, "Yes, he did. He also killed Sakuya and damaged Aigis."

"Why're you so selfish?"

Kotone immediately jumped out of her seat the second she heard that sentence and faced the hospitalized persona-user, "Excuse me?"

Chidori didn't even seem threatened or moved, she just continued to stare at the source of where this strange feeling of emptiness originated. "Junpei told me about his other-self. Tell me, why do you do everything that you do? Why couldn't you just leave him alone?"

"Because I…" Kotone sighed as she shook her head, "from the day I first met him, he just felt… sad. Whenever I saw him in the halls, it was like I saw a raincloud hovering over him no matter where he went. I guess, I just wanted him to be happy again."

Kotone let out an empty laugh as the memories came flooding back, "Before I knew it, he ended up stealing my heart. Even more ironic, the broken thing I'd set out to fix was the one who was fixing me in a way. After that, I dunno… I just wanted to be with him for the sake of being with him at that point."

"But you wanted the _real_ him, didn't you?" Chidori asked as she finally stopped staring at Makoto's beside and began her habit of drawing again. "But that's what makes you selfish."

"How the hell is wanting him back to how he was selfish?!" Kotone shot back, not bothering to hide the anger that was quickly welling up inside at the mere thought.

"His friend might have caused his loss, but he didn't cause him to change," Chidori continued, "he wanted to escape. He _wanted_ his pain to end, even if it meant that he lost his sense of self."

Chidori put down her sketchbook and looked Kotone in the eye and said, "Tell me, what gives you the right to bring him back into a world he wanted to escape? What gives you the right to determine what's best for him? What gives you the right to make him experience all of the pain he wanted to get away from?"

"S-S-Shut up!" Kotone screamed, not caring what any of the staff might've thought if they overheard or how Junpei would feel to know that she was snapping at the one he cared about. "What? Are you on that monster's side, is that it?! Who the hell are you to judge?!"

"I'm not on anyone's side," Chidori replied as she began to draw again, but let out a long sigh, "I just don't get it. Even when I tell him not to come, Junpei always visits despite it hurting whenever he does—just like how you're about to hurt him by bringing the _real_ him back. You're—"

Before she could finish the sentence, a loud smack pierced the air as Kotone glared at the gothic girl. "Fuck you! What gives _you_ the right to call me that after I just fought tooth and nail for him? If you want to keep this brooding bitch façade up, go ahead but don't you dare drag him or me into it!"

Chidori blinked for a few moments in shock as she rubbed the side of her face. She expected that to not be something that she would've liked to hear, but that was a bit stronger of a reaction than she expected. "Very well…"

Still feeling the anger burning inside her, Kotone gave one last look at Makoto before stomping out the door before she did something she's regret. Who cares what she said? What would she know anyway? She hardly knew Makoto and she damn well didn't know Minato.

* * *

_**Dorm** _

Everyone sat around uncomfortably on the fourth floor, unsure how to start the team meeting. There wasn't a question about what was still on everyone's minds, but no one was eager to bring it back up, especially around their leader.

"So uh..." Junpei looked around at everyone in the room filled with tension so thick that you could cut it with a knife, "pretty soon will be our last mission, right?"

"I guess," Kotone responded dejectedly.

"Do you think ending the Dark Hour will make that shadow leave Makoto-kun?" Fuuka asked. Even if they managed to defeat Makoto this time, if he woke up, he'd still have that monster to deal with.

"Honestly, I'm questioning the validity of the belief that defeating the last shadow will put a stop to everything," Mitsuru dared to bring up something that had been on the back of their minds ever since they first fought Makoto, "if Ikutsuki really was planning to betray us…"

"Come to think of it, Makoto helped us kill the other shadows too, right," Yukari said, "why would the shadow inside him even let him do that?"

"There are so many questions left unanswered from all of this." Mitsuru sighed, unable to believe that Ikutsuki was just using them. She wanted to think that the shadow was lying, but for what purpose? It was planning to kill them all, so it's not like it would've had anything to gain.

"Regardless, we still need to prepare to deal with the next shadow," Akihiko sighed, "if we leave it alone that just means that more people are going to die."

"What about Aigis," Ken brought up their fallen teammate, "how's she?"

"Yuk—Arisato inflicted more damage than originally anticipated," Mitsuru answered, almost forgetting that Yuki was nothing more than a false-name meant to trick everyone about who he was. "It's unlikely that she'll be present for the next operation."

And with that, the uncomfortable silence returned. So much had happened this month; losing Shinjiro, Makoto killing Strega, fighting Makoto and that thing inside him, learning that Ikutsuki was using them for reasons unknown, Makoto all but destroying Aigis, and now Makoto's in the hospital while they're left wondering what will happen when they destroy this next shadow.

…

…

…

"I told you, I'm doing fine," Kotone said as she sat in her chair by her desk with a phone to her ear, doing her best to sound like her usual self—especially considering the person on the other end. "Yes, my friends are doing fine too."

Fine? Yeah, right. None of them are sure what'll happen when they defeat this next shadow and Makoto gave everyone a firm reminder of just what this hour has done to people. No one was confident in what they were doing anymore. They just didn't want to say it.

Kotone let out a surprised, "Huh," when she heard the person's next question. "Oh, how's it working out between me and him? It's uh… gotten complicated."

Complicated? Yeah, that's one way to put it. He was in the hospital right now and there was no telling exactly how he would act when he woke up. Would he be Makoto? Minato? Would he just be a puppet with Pharos as the puppet master again? All she could do right now was pray for a miracle.

The voice on the other end could be heard whistling, "Complicated already, huh? Well, you've still done better than my first relationship. Boy, now _that_ was complicated."

Kotone suppressed a chuckle as she shook her head, "Dad please, don't start that story again. It was _your_ fault."

"What? But I—okay, you're probably right," he admitted, "still, you're not supposed to just say it!"

"Sorry to disappoint you," she tried her best to giggle. "No, it was nothing like that. Just… he's going through some personal stuff right now."

Personal stuff… a fancy way of saying he had a monster use him like he were nothing more than a toy, and she was the one who gave him so many of the injuries that were going to scar when they had healed. Whether she likes it or not, now there'll always be several signs to remind them of what happened because of that abomination.

"Ooh, that kind of complicated." The father sounded like he was taking a deep breath and exhaling, "Yeah, that's not my strong suit, sorry."

"Not to be rude, but I was kinda busy…" Kotone tried to sound as convincing as possible.

Busy? No one had been busy the past few days. All they've been is them trying to prepare for the next full moon with a cloud hanging above their heads. She just wanted to get off the phone so she wouldn't have to keep this façade up.

"Right, you're probably stacked with homework," he reasoned. "I shouldn't keep you. Call me anytime."

"I know." Kotone let out a soft sigh as the call was finally ending and she could afford to sound more closely to how she felt. "Love you too, Dad. Bye"

Leave it to her dad to call at the worst of times. Usually, she loved talking to him about how school had been going, how/who her friends were, etc. She was even close enough to him that she even told him about her 'dates' with Makoto/Minato back when the year first started.

But now, it was the worst time for that. No matter how she looked at it, in a way, Pharos reducing Makoto to nothing more than his plaything was at least partly her fault. She sure as hell believed she did the right thing and wouldn't let anyone dare tell her otherwise, but she was still the one who caused Pharos to get so angry at Makoto, to begin with. If she had known about Pharos and approached everything differently, things might not have escalated so far.

That was probably just wishful thinking. Either way, she'd have to deal with Pharos and Pharos turned out to be rather possessive.

Kotone glanced at the weapon by her desk—the same one that had been used to fight off the same person who was dominating her thoughts. Just one more operation, and with luck, Ikutsuki wouldn't have been lying when he said destroying this last one would end the Dark Hour. It may have been a longshot, but it was the only hope she had right now. If this hour finally ends, maybe that demon would finally go away?

* * *

_**Moonlight Bridge** _

Kotone looked up at the sky and saw the full moon hanging above all of them as they stood at the bridge. One last operation and this could finally all be over.

"It's fitting that it ends here," Mitsuru said for seemingly no reason before following it by, "I was able to see if what the shadow said held any truth, and… It was here. It was right here ten years ago that Arisato's family was killed."

"So in a sense," Kotone's eyes became focused solely on the bridge as she tried to imagine the horrific scene play out in her head, "this is where it all began."

She looked up and saw Arcana Hanged Man hovering above them. It was just staying there, almost as if it were telling them to try and attack.

Back on the bridge came three shadows in the form of strange statues. It was strange to face something as simple as this after fighting that monster that followed Makoto wherever he went.

Fuuka warned everyone about the shadows' attacks and resistances as the fighting began to ensue. Fighting with a team was so different than fighting by one's self.

Kotone's mind seemed to almost go blank as the shadows were pushed back. Everything just seemed so… surreal. She couldn't explain why, but… something about all of this just felt off.

Maybe the after-effects of the last fight still hadn't worn off? Everything just felt so… easy now that she continually found her mind slipping.

The last of the statue shadows squirmed as it began to fade away. Did she kill that one, or was it one of the others? Speaking of which, what happened to the other statues? Everyone was looking at her in awe… did she kill the other ones? Maybe, but who cares? All that matters is bringing that shadow down.

For whatever reason, the loss of the statues caused Hanged Man to descend into the bridge. It didn't take long for everyone to surround it and begin attacking.

Next thing Kotone knew, she was standing in front of the shadow's face as it shrieked and whined in pain. She wasn't even completely sure why it was crying so much, it was nothing more than another monster that needed to die.

Kotone reeled her weapon back and began slashing aimlessly at the shadow's face causing its ichor to splatter everywhere as it screamed from the assault.

How long did this go on? For seconds or several minutes? She wasn't sure of anything anymore. She just wanted that shadow to die.

Eventually, the shadow began to fade away into a black mist, leaving no trace of its existence behind. Even all of the ichor that covered the ground, her blade, and stained her clothes began to fade away as well.

As Kotone continued to stand there panting, her heart still racing despite her mind feeling the same as it had for the past few weeks, the others began talking about what they were going to do now.

However, Kotone thought a similar but different question that would continue to haunt her throughout the rest of the night. Now that the last of the twelve were gone, what's going to happen next?

* * *

_**Hospital** _

Pharos sat on the edge of the hospital bed, silently watching his friend sleep peacefully after his last battle. It was a long and hard-fought battle, but not every fight they have is going to end with success.

Pharos closed his eyes as he felt his final piece return to him, making him whole once again. With his full power restored, he could feel the seal that had been placed upon him ten years ago finally break.

Once again being at his full strength and with nothing restricting his powers any longer, Pharos placed a hand on his friend's arm and watched as all of the wounds that Kotone had given him suddenly vanished. His healing spells on Makoto were always very limited when it came to those that had similar power to him, but now that didn't mean anything anymore.

"Ugh," Makoto shifted in the bed for a few moments before slowly opening his eyes. The first thing that struck him was how… empty his mind felt.

Usually, there was always the presence of his other to keep in check, but now he was just… gone. In a last-ditch effort to save Kotone, he completely sacrificed his existence to stop Makoto from hurting her.

"You're awake." Makoto turned towards the familiar voice and saw Pharos who looked very different from before. His hair had grown longer, most notably in the front where his bangs were brushed down closely emulating the fringe that Makoto had, and his facial features had changed slightly making him look more like Minato when he was around six or seven.

Makoto groaned as he placed a hand on his head. He could think a little more coherently now that Pharos had put some pieces of his mind back together. Not enough that he was how he used to be, but enough that he could go on without him.

"I have to go now." Pharos suddenly said with a sad face which caught Makoto's attention immediately.

"G-Go?" Makoto tilted his head confused. Why would Pharos need to go?

"There's not enough time," Pharos said as he began to become translucent as he began to fade away. "But don't worry. We'll see each other again… Goodbye."

"P-Pharos, don't…" Makoto tried to reach out for the boy, only for him to completely fade away at the last second.

And then, Makoto could only sit there as the horrible realization kicked in.

"Don't…"

For the first time in his life…

"Don't go…"

… He was truly alone.

Makoto simply remained there still for several moments before slowly lowering his head and feeling himself being washed away like chalk on a sidewalk—removed to be replaced with something else.

After a few moments, the boy lifted his head and rose from the bed. There was still some time before the Dark Hour ends—not much, but enough.

Pulling the IVs out of his arm, the bluenette began walking towards the door. Even though he was in a hospital gown, it wouldn't be hard to find some clothes if he hurried.

Right when he placed his hand on the knob, the boy heard a voice ask, "So, where will you go now?"

The boy sighed, knowing just who that voice belonged to, "Hell if I know." Not wanting to answer any more questions or waste any time, the boy walked out of the room and left the hospital as quickly as he could.

Luckily for him, there was a small clothing store nearby for him to raid and find something to protect him from the cold early November air. All he was going to need was a simple pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie.

Inside the pockets of the hoodie, however, was also something that he was going to take care of when he reached the place he needed to be right now.

* * *

_**?** _

"I'm so sleepy…" Minako yawned as she struggled to keep her head from leaning against her brother's shoulder.

"Me too," Minato's yawn follow his younger twin's. They had been out all day and night celebrating their birthday, and now both of them were completely spent. They would've left to go home sooner, but there was some sort of car trouble that neither of them understood that caused them to be held up sooner.

"Betcha I can stay up longer than you…" Minako dared as she fought as hard as she could to keep her eyes open.

"No you won't," Minato rose to his sibling's challenge. There was nothing like a friendly competition to end the day one.

"How are you two still up," their mother yawned, clearly as tired as the two of them were.

The twins shrugged and both said, "I dunno," before looking at each other for a moment in bewilderment. Is this what happens when twin telepathy goes too far?

Their mother sighed, "I don't even want to think about how hard it'll be to wake you two up in the morn—"

Their mother was suddenly cut off and the car came to a halt as the world around the twins began to change.

Everything suddenly gained a greenish tint to it and the moon suddenly seemed to be a bit bigger than usual for some reason. The thing that distracted the two the most, however, was that their parents had suddenly changed into what looked like coffins.

Minako rubbed her eyes and pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "Minato, what's going on?"

"I don't—" Minato cut himself off when he saw a trail of breath coming from him and his skin stung when he felt a sudden chill in the air.

Confused and growing increasingly scared, the two looked out the car's rear window and saw what could only be described as a ghost that was slowly making its way closer and closer to them.

The twins remained completely silent when the ghost slowly began to make its way past the car, not noticing the two of them sitting in the backseat of the vehicle.

Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot pierced the air causing the twins to cover their ears to muffle the loud bangs that immediately followed. Even with their ears muffled, the constant banging caused the two siblings to keep their eyes shut and they remained dead-silent as they sat in the car.

However, as the battle continued, something hit the car the sheer force of which caused the vehicle to flip and stop not too far from the edge of the bridge.

"Ugh," Minato groaned as he rubbed his head, having hit it on the door next to him. Minato slowly turned his head to look at his sister. Both of them were dangling in their seats thanks to the seatbelts.

"You okay?" he groaned as he slowly moved his arms and fiddled with the restrain. After a few moments, the belt came loose causing him to experience a shortfall as he hit the roof of the car.

Minako let out a pained whine, "M-My leg hurts…" she said, clutching the leg that right next to the door that now had a large dent in it. "Please… help…"

"Hold on," Minato slowly crawled his way to his sister, "just need a mom—"

Before he could finish the sentence, the car was suddenly hit again, this time multiple sections of the car were set ablaze by what could only be described as a supernatural flame.

Minako let out another whimper, "Hurry…"

"I'm trying, I'm trying," he said as he frantically tried to get the restraint off his sister, "i-it's stuck!"

Still in pain with tears falling from her eyes, Minako tried her best to squirm free from the belt instead, but all that did was cause her to cry out in pain from her leg.

Minato looked around and saw that the fire was spreading rapidly, "sorry about this." Not giving his sister any time to argue, he tried his best to force her and her leg free from the restraints causing her to let out an ear-piercing shriek in pain that continued until she was finally free.

With his sister finally free, Minato tried opening the car door on his side. Giving him trouble at first, Minato proceeded to push the door open as hard as his small frame would let him, causing the door to open just enough to slip through.

"Come on, this won't be easy." Grabbing onto his sister's shoulders, Minato began to drag her out.

Feeling the sharp pain in her leg as she was slowly being dragged, Minako cried out in pain, "Stop! Stop! Stop! I-It hurts… It hurts too much!"

"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I…" Minato looked around and saw the flames getting closer and closer, and Minako was unable to move because of the pain in her leg.

"I-I… I'm sorry…" Shaking his head and cursing himself, Minato slipped through the open gap and ran as quickly as he could from the wreckage. All the while, his sister was continuously calling his name, begging him to come back.

After running several feet away, Minato looked back at the wreckage and lost all strength in his legs. He saw Minako using all of her strength to crawl away, still calling his name… but not quick enough that she could escape the fire.

Over and over she kept screaming his name before being engulfed in the flames. Minato could only watch helplessly as he watched his sister writhe and cry as she was burned alive. He didn't even know when the tears started falling… She was so close to getting away… If he'd just helped her for a little bit longer…

Minato almost didn't notice the chill in the air amid everything. Slowly turning his head, Minato saw the 'ghost' staring back at him…

* * *

_**Present** _

The boy continued walking through the mostly deserted streets with his head hung low. The Dark Hour had ended a few minutes ago, but that was fine. He didn't need any more reminders other than the one that was permanently scarred into all three pieces of his broken soul.

He sighed as he reached into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out the same mask that led to everything that had happened during October. He didn't bring it or anything. It simply 'followed' him before resting itself inside his pocket.

It was funny in a way. So much pain and death could be traced back to this one little mask in the palm of his hands.

Without a second thought, the bluenette crushed the mask with his bare hands, crumbling it to pieces. It was astounding really, the thing was strong enough that a shot from Takaya's revolver bounced off it but now it shattered so easily.

Letting the bits and pieces get carried away in a gust of wind, the boy put his hands back into his pockets and walked a short distance to his destination.

Exhaling, the boy took a seat and faced the stone in front of him. "Hey sis," Foundation greeted the grave that neither Inheritor nor Prince had the strength to approach, "been a while, hasn't it?"

Of course, a piece of stone wasn't going to provide him with any response.

The boy sighed, but not before feeling a drop of water fell onto his nose. Raising his hand, the boy felt more and more raindrops beginning to fall.

"Just not my day, is it?" The boy chuckled before leaning back with his hands supporting him. For the first time in ten years, he was completely in control without anyone else being present in his head.

Inheritor sacrificed himself to save the person he loved.

Prince put himself to 'sleep,' simply unable to continue anymore.

That only left Foundation, the one that began it all when he left his sister to die years ago.

"And then there was one…" Minato mumbled as he continued to sit by the graves of those he had lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daw, Makoto still loved him even after he was horrifically tortured and mindscrewed to hell..... the power of friendship?
> 
> Alright, so this is Minato. Like, real Minato. The first. The only guy who was called Minato (who I refer to as Arisato or Inheritor)? Just another fake like Makoto. I'm saying now because I don't feel like I clarified that well.


	60. Chapter 60

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh, I remember this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I wrote this one during a heatwave... it wasn't fun.

_**School** _

Ring. Ring. Ring.

The bell rang signaling the end of the school day. Everyone was already in low spirits due to most having their home damaged during the shadows' rampage throughout the city. There was even a brief break for the various damages to the roads to be repaired, but needless to say, not many got to enjoy the extra time off.

Still, life continued. Everyone complained now and then and had a cloud over their shoulder but that was it. They could still live on, blissfully unaware of the truth that had happened the past few weeks—hell, this year even.

On and on the wheel of time goes on, unaffected by anything that happens. No matter how much people try to live in the past, the clock will simply keep ticking as they get left behind for their past regrets and decisions to swallow them whole.

Kotone continued to stare out the window like she had been doing ever since Makoto first went missing, and continued to do so ever since he was put into the hospital. Her grades were next to perfect already, so it's not like missing a few lectures were going to hurt her that badly. Besides, it's not like she would be able to concentrate anyway. For now, all she could do was let the pitter-patter of the raindrops outside carry her away…

"Shiomi-san…"

Times like this she had could finally think to herself.

The golden question on SEES' mind was none other than, 'did the Dark Hour go away?' Originally, they had thought that everything would be solved the moment the twelve shadows representing the twelve Arcana would end everything.

But then they learned the truth about Ikutsuki, the very person who had told them that. She trusted Makoto's the word the moment he told her and the others learned when they heard it from Pharos.

"Shiomi-san…!"

Much as she hated to admit it, it was doubtful that Pharos would've had any reason to lie to them. That… thing wasn't even planning on them to survive and everything it said about Makoto/Minato and his family was true.

In that case, what did they fight for this entire time? They didn't even know what Ikutsuki's plan would've been now that he and Sakuya were both dead. What would he have gained for betraying them? How would he even betray them? Poisoning them or something? Was Sakuya's original purpose to kill them once the deed was done? No, he would've just killed the twelve shadows himself if he was strong enough to kill all of them plus Makoto.

Maybe the Dark Hour is over, but he would have killed all of them for something that none of them knew as of yet? Perhaps he wanted the hour over as much as they did, but there was some personal reason he had for wanting revenge on Kirijo just like Makoto did.

It's funny in a way. They worked so hard, yet everything up until now feels hollow once they reached their goal. Ikutsuki's dead, Shinjiro's dead, Makoto's likely never going to be the same even if he wakes up, and everyone in SEES was having a hard time hiding the cloud looming over them; in the end, no one is happy.

"Shiomi-san!"

Kotone blinked as she finally snapped back to reality to find that she was the only student in the classroom with her homeroom teacher Ms. Toriumi standing in front of her desk.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry," Kotone apologized, quickly beginning to pack up her things.

The teacher sighed as her student prepared herself to leave, "Shiomi, is everything all right?" she asked. "You've been out of it lately. Is there something bothering you?"

Kotone stood and shook her head. "I'm fine," she said, "nothing to be concerned about."

"Are you sure?" The teacher asked again. "It wouldn't have anything to do with Yuki-kun's recent hospitalization, would it?"

Kotone couldn't stop herself from looking away at the mere mention of that. Whenever she thought about it, she could only think about everything she had to do to him in their fight because of that monstrosity that followed him like the parasite it was.

"No," she shook her head again. "As I said, I'm fine. Just in one of _those_ moods."

Toriumi didn't seem satisfied with that response, but accepted nonetheless, "Well, if you need anything—"

"I said I'm fine! Stop it!" Kotone finally lost her temper and shouted at the teacher before storming out of the room before her elder even had a chance to respond to her sudden outburst. She had enough on her mind already. She didn't need anyone poking around in something that didn't concern them.

Mumbling various curses and rantings to herself, Kotone made her way to the school gate. To hell with that lazy teacher, she can worry about her damn problems.

"Shiomi, wait!"

Kotone stopped when she recognized the voice of her senior and looked back to see Mitsuru with an unusually worried look on her face.

"What's going on?" Kotone responded urgently, instantly forgetting her brief spat with her teacher from just a few moments ago.

"It's Arisato," Mitsuru answered, "according to the doctors he's been missing ever since the last operation!"

Kotone's heart suddenly sank. Even if Minato/Makoto were awake now, that… thing was still with him. "And you're just finding out about this now!?"

"Everyone was still exhausted from last night. This morning I didn't think to—" Mitsuru cut herself off and shook her head, "We can discuss this later. Right now, the most important thing to do is find him as soon as possible!"

"Dammit," Kotone cursed as the various images of what that monster could've been doing to him flood her brain. All she could think of was all the times he cut himself, all of the physical and mental torture he went through alone in that freezing apartment of his, and that cursed grinning mask with lifeless eyes that he wore that the demon spoke through.

"The hospital was already put on lockdown and conducted a full search," Mitsuru continued, "he must've left before the Dark Hour ended. He could be anywhere!"

 _No, no, no, no…_ Kotone's thoughts raced as the fear of having to fight him again began setting in. She barely won last time with Minato's help, and now… she didn't even want to think about now.

Dammit, just where the hell was he?

* * *

_**Apartments** _

It might've been a waste of time, but it was worth checking to see if he had gone back to his apartment at some point. He _was_ in a hospital gown when he woke up, he must've gotten a change of clothes somehow lest he sticks out like a sore thumb.

When Kotone arrived at the place that served as Makoto's home for the past year, she saw that the place seemed to be mostly untouched. Without that monster present, the temperature of the place had long since gone up and the unnatural darkness had gone away completely.

Besides those two changes, nothing seemed all that different about the place. The whole place was mostly barren, leaving very little to be disturbed even if he _did_ come through here.

"Dammit, dammit…" Kotone cursed as she searched the house relentlessly. There had to at least have been _some_ clue on where he would have gone! Even if he was brainwashed or possessed by Pharos again, there had to have been something that Makoto was drawn too…

Kotone sighed as she struggled to think of a specific place he would have gone. For the most part, Makoto always kept to himself in his house or something just to avoid people, so he only left to get something to eat, drink, go to school, or when she dragged him out.

There had to be something…

As Kotone searched the place one more time for anything she could have missed that at least hinted where he went. After what felt like hours of searching, Kotone's eyes wandered to the small plushies that Makoto collected as a memento to his deceased sister.

It was then that something struck her…

_"Ever been to Destinyland before?" If "parents" or "childhood" was too touchy, then maybe being a bit broader would be fine?_

_"No." And this did little to change his habit of answering with 1 worded sentences._

_Kotone sighed, this was just tedious. If she took the safe approach, she wasn't going to get anywhere "Alright, I'll ask: Are you going to keep doing this?"_

_Makoto shrugged "I dunno, I'm just answering honestly."_

_Kotone just blinked and stared "... There's something wrong with you." she complained_

_"Whatever." He dismissed the complaint as he gazed off to another direction._

_There in the distance were multiple gravestones, but only 3 held any meaning to him._

_Even after all these years since the funeral, they still looked exactly as he remembered them._

_There were 2 typical ones. The final resting places of what was left of his parents' corpses after that day._

_And, there was the 3rd one... and that one was far too small to belong here._

_"You alright?" Kotone asked, her concern returning as he seemed to space out again_

…

…

_"Did you hear that..?" She asked, barely able to contain her giggling and her face almost seemed to be glowing the redder it became "She called you my boyfriend."_

_"That so..?" Makoto replied disinterestedly. Instead, his attention was focused on the same thing that had distracted him the last time he was here._

_"Minato!"_

_Three graves; Two for adults, one that was far too small..._

_"Minato!"_

_One for a loving mother and another for a caring father..._

_"MINATO!"_

_And then, one for a piece of him that he had lost... All because-_

_"Hey!" Kotone's yelling shocked him out of his daze and made him shake his head to regain focus_

_"I'm sorry, what?" He asked trying to understand what was going on, having been distracted by things he wished he could forget._

…

Come to think of it, both of those were at thesame place, too. It was one of the few moments where Makoto was noticeably bothered by something, which could only mean—

"Bingo…" she said as she quickly dialed a number on her phone. "Senpai, I think I know where he went!"

* * *

_**Shrine** _

Minato had placed himself under a nearby tree once the rain began to go from drizzling to pouring. It wasn't much in terms of shelter but was better than nothing at all.

Minato shivered as the cold began to catch up to him. It was strange to feel something as basic as feeling cold again. Before, it took something supernatural like Pharos before he could even feel slight irritation, but now his senses were progressively going back to normal.

But that also left questions that he was frightened to know the answers to. It didn't matter if Pharos was gone now, his soul had been permanently marked from the second it was forced into him. Even if minor things like the ability to _feel_ cold like a normal person came back, there was always going to be something else that would never go back to how it was.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up," he said as he listened to sounds of footsteps approaching him. There weren't a lot of people who would want to visit the shrine in the rain, and even less in this exact spot. "So, was this what you were expecting to see?"

"Who am I speaking to right now?" The redhead asked.

Minato let out an empty laugh, "Didn't I tell you? I'm just one big mess."

"Just _one_ big mess, huh?"

Minato stood up and approached the short girl who had been the cause of so many headaches. There wasn't any fear in her eyes or anger. All that was there was the relief that after weeks of being hunted followed by guilt, the nightmare was finally over.

Minato nodded, "Just one now," he shrugged, "Pharos left, Makoto's asleep, and the one who shared my name died saving you…"

Minato bit his lip and began choking on his words, "s-saving you from… from… I-I…"

Before he could finish the sentence, Kotone wrapped her arms the boy who buried his face in her shoulder.

"I-I… I…"

"It's alright…" She promised as she tightened her grip on his frame. Even though the freezing rain was still falling, she didn't care. She didn't know how or why, but she could tell just by being around him that it was true. The monster was finally gone, and she was left with him… the _real_ him.

"I… I'm so…" he couldn't hold it in anymore. For the first time in many long years, the tears came flooding out like a river. Makoto was still part of him, and if he tried to hurt her, then that meant _he_ had tried to hurt her as well.

"It's okay, it's okay…" She continued to whisper in his ear. Minato lost all strength in his legs, causing both of them to fall to their knees while still latching onto one another. "It's all okay now."

"I-I… I almost… would've…" the tears just kept flowing. By now, Kotone couldn't tell if her clothes were soaked from the rain or the boy's tears.

"Hey…" Kotone pulled back and saw that the boy's eyes had gone red from the tears that were still falling down his cheeks. Flashing him one brief smile, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his. It was just for a brief moment, but even that small brief kiss felt like magic after everything they've gone through.

After that short sweet kiss had ended, both of them placed their foreheads against one another. After all this time, it was like everything from the past month had been nothing but a dream.

Barely able to choke back more tears before croaking out, "I… I love you."

Kotone beamed back at him, "I love you too."

"How…?" He asked. "How can you still…"

She giggled, "Tell me that you love me for the first time, and you can get away with a lot of things."

Minato felt her hands cup the sides of his face as his vision continued to blur from the tears welling up in his eyes. "I don't know who I am anymore…"

She shook her head as she pulled him in close again. "You are and always were Minato Arisato… you just lost your way."

"I'm all alone now…"

"You still have me."

Minato shook his head, "I don't deserve you."

Kotone giggled as she ran a hand through his soaked hair, "Please, you need me to keep your ass in check."

Minato couldn't help but chuckle, "I guess I do, don't I?"

"Come on," she whispered as she hugged him as tightly as she could one more time. "Let's go home."

"I don't have one."

"God you're such an idiot," she giggled as she gave him another peck on the lips. "Home is where your loved ones are."

Whatever awaited them later wasn't any of concern of them now. For now, all they could do was smile as they held each other again. At long last, Minato's long nightmare was finally over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so... here's where things get messy. I kinda ran out of ideas on how to carry this one after this. Originally, it got way too angsty and I had to rewrite a lot of chapters. Hell, I'm STILL rewriting. So after this, it's going to become somewhat of a disorganized mess.
> 
> Also, daw... he finally said he loves her. I don't know if anyone actually had that reaction, so I thought I'd do it myself.


	61. Chapter 61

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh-oh, here it is! Remember when I said I was going to change the format at some point? Well, here you go. You're not getting the location names anymore. Have fun with that.

"I'm scared," Minato whispered as he continued to hold onto the redheaded girl, both because he didn't want to let go and because all of his time in the rain combined with him being ill-prepared led to his body getting cold very quickly, and Pharos wasn't around to make sure things like his body temperature stayed regulated in extreme conditions.

"Don't be," Kotone whispered, repeatedly running her hand through his hair. Minato had gotten so cold that she had to force him to a drier spot where their little reunion resumed. It was hard to believe that the same person who had faced off against SEES, Strega, one of Ikutsuki's pet projects, and lived with a god of death for ten years was curled up against her crying his eyes out.

Minato shifted his head so that his face was now slightly buried in her shoulder and his voice was now somewhat muffled. "He hated you, you know. Makoto I mean," he admitted. "You're the only one, who made him doubt what he was doing, the only one who could cause a divide between him and Pharos. You're the only one he felt he loved and was loved back—and now, he's gone."

"No he's not," Kotone shook her head, nudging him off her slightly so that she could see his face again, "you're still here, aren't you?"

"I guess." Minato looked back towards the rainy city, "what do we do now?"

"How about this," Kotone pulled him back close to her so that they were now leaning against each other as they watched the rainfall, "we somehow get through the rest of high school, get jobs, get married, have tons of babies, and then live happily ever after?"

Minato frowned, her little joke doing more harm than good, "I'm serious Kotone."

"Who says I wasn't?" Kotone asked, but the frown that remained constant on his face caused her to sigh, "Minato, can't we just enjoy this moment? Are you sure that... Pharos," she struggled to call such an inhuman thing by a human name, "is gone?"

"He left soon after Makoto woke up," Minato answered, "And Makoto… just couldn't take it anymore. Just like I did after I lost my family, he just gave up. And without my other, that only left me after ten years of dormancy I guess you can call it."

"Like I said, let's just enjoy this moment while it last," Kotone turned his head and placed another long sweet kiss on his lips, "no Pharos, no dual persona, no shadows—just two idiots who are young and in love."

Minato let out a soft chuckle and smiled weakly, "oh, I'm an idiot too huh?"

"You left the dorm all by yourself didn't you?" Kotone countered, "Yup, you're a total idiot."

"Point taken," Minato nodded, reserving any questions and choosing to ignore most of what had happened the past few days. The reality of their situation was harsh and complicated—there was nothing wrong with wanting to forget for just a few short moments. Today was the first day in ten years that he was in own persona again without any of his other selves conflicting or Pharos always being present.

"You know, Chidori tried saying I was selfish," Kotone brought up an event that was still plaguing the back of her mind. Every time she thought about it, her blood began to boil as every word that the girl said repeated herself in the back of her mind. After she was even willing to support Junpei's infatuation with her, she still felt like she had the right to say that to her face? "She tried saying it was selfish of me to try and bring _you_ out again and—"

"You slapped her, didn't you?" Minato didn't even need to hear the rest of the story. Kotone put a hand to her mouth for a second when she realized that she had done a poor job of masking the rancor in her voice.

"I-I…" Kotone sighed, looking down at the ground. There was no point in lying to him, especially now when honesty was what they needed now more than ever. "Y-Yeah, I did… pretty hard too."

"Why?" Minato asked, his voice lacking any hints of anger or disappointment. It was hard for him to judge one for their actions no matter how harsh they were—he'd already done it all and worse.

"I just… got angry," Kotone answered, raising her arms slightly for a moment before lowering them again. "When you were…," she didn't want to finish that sentence, but she was the one who made the stupid mistake of bringing this up so she had to see it through, "when you were _not you,_ I was terrified. Fighting you was easily the worst thing I've ever had to do in my life and to have her say all those things… I just lost it for a moment."

"Heh," Minato let out a short, almost silent laugh as he continued staring off into the distance.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, just," Minato shook his head for a moment before turning his head back towards Kotone. "We never did discuss _us,_ did we?" he pointed out.

"What's there to discuss?" Kotone asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… how serious are we?" Minato asked in a sheepish voice as a faint red began to spread across his cheeks. "I-I mean I… I've never been in a—I'm not exactly familiar with the—Makoto never cared to be in—I don't…" he shook his head again after fumbling through his words for a response. Screw it, he might as well just come out and say it directly rather than beating around the bush, "Kotone, we've only known each other for about half a year, but you're my first love, my first kiss, my _first,_ and I… I just want to know what—"

Before he could finish, his sentence was interrupted by feeling her lips on his again for what must've been the dozenth time since the two of them were reunited again. Rather than simply kissing and parting like before, Kotone slowly began to slide in her tongue catching the boy off guard as she leaned further in and laced her fingers behind the boy's head, who then, in turn, wrapped his arms around her hips. Minato felt her smiling against his mouth when her tongue was met with his own, both battling for control and ending in a stalemate like usual.

However, losing was the last thing that Kotone was going to let happen after all of this. Moving her hands from the back of his head and instead cupping his face while letting out a soft moan, Kotone crawled closer while unwilling to break the kiss for even moment. With her boyfriend too distracted by her lips and hormonal activity, she lowered her body so that she was now sitting on top of his lap, the contact of which causing him to let out a gasp and giving her just enough time for her to slide her tongue further in. Choosing instead to concede, Minato kept a tight grasp on the girl's hips and let her explore as much as she wanted.

Running out of air, the two eventually pulled panting. Minato let out a laugh, "Lemme guess, I'm such an idiot?"

Kotone smiled back at him, "You got that right," she giggled, brushing his fringe aside to show his face. "I play for keeps Minato, and I'm not letting you go yet," she said before her smile formed a mischievous grin, "and from what I'm feeling, it doesn't look like you're ready to either."

Minato's eyes widened for a moment before he quickly looked off to the side with a bright red face, "C-Can you… get off my lap, please? We ARE still in public, remember?"

And then it was Kotone's turn for her eyes to widen as her cheeks flushed red. She was so caught up in the moment and atmosphere that she forgot where they were for a few moments. Suddenly feeling as if a thousand eyes were upon her, she expeditiously got off her boyfriend and scooted a few inches away just for good measure despite them being the only apparent people in the area.

The two remained silent, neither doing so much as looking at the other as they watched the rainfall from the sky onto the various surfaces and into one of the many puddles that had formed. Just a few moments ago Minato was crying his eyes out as she held onto him, and now they couldn't even look at each other. There had to be some way to salvage this…

Minato coughed, trying to break this silence lest this moment is completely ruined. When he saw he glance in his direction, he continued, "Y-You know, this reminds me of the day we became a couple."

Kotone's cheeks reddened even more and she let out a soft whine causing Minato to curse himself. The first thing they did was sleep with each other, of course, that wouldn't make this situation any better! What was he thinking? God, what was wrong with—

"Y-Yeah," Kotone winced as the awkwardness caused her to feel like a bag of rocks was weighing on her shoulders, "um… y-you remember that time we went out on our first official date here? You know, for the summer festival?"

"Yeah, I remember," Minato nodded, scooting just a bit closer.

"That was also the same time you shot me down," Kotone murmured, grinding Minato to a complete halt as the mood turned sour.

Minato sighed, remembering the actions of his other self. It was strange; he had seen all of the actions of his others, but it was less like experiencing them and more like watching a movie in the theater. Makoto dominantly remained in control, and perhaps as due to the feelings of pain and hopelessness from both Makoto and the original Minato himself, a sort of barrier or cage was built around the third more optimistic self. Yet, even with that, Minato still felt all the emotions and conflicts that each one of them went through, including…

"He wanted to say yes," Minato looked down, remembering the actions of someone who wasn't quite really him. "He hated you—he wanted to hate you. He hated how you smiled all the time. He hated how you never left him alone. He hated everything about you; he wanted you to just cast him off and forget about him like everyone else," he bit his lip. A sense of mourning began to build back up inside him again, but this time directed at someone else entirely.

How many times had Makoto torn himself to pieces just to get through the next day? How many times did he cry while refusing to let himself shed another tear until he'd gotten revenge for what had happened to him? How many times had he been unable to sleep at night, lest the nightmares creep their way back into his mind?

"He hated me that much, huh?" She sounded very dejected. She never really knew who it was that loved her—the Minato she knew, the true Minato, or Makoto. It made sense in a way. Of course, he hated her….

"He hated you because he loved you." Minato clarified, looked down at his feet. "Being scorned and alone was something he knew very well and it was what he had grown accustomed to—affection was something else entirely."

"Did I…" Kotone's voice trailed off, either unwilling or unable to finish the rest of the sentence.

"Hurt him? Yeah, you did," Minato answered, unwilling to hold anything back. "Every moment with you was just a reminder of the life he could never have. Even when he chose you in the end, somewhere deep down he still knew that the life he wanted would never come into fruition…"

Minato gulped and his hands tightened their grip on his pants and his words suddenly became much more forced, "but then… then that bastard… he… he that mask took Makoto and… twisted him into something else…"

"Hey. Hey, hey…" Kotone called out to him before wrapping her arms back around him just like she had done earlier, "it's all right… it's all over now."

"I… I could hear him scream… all I could hear was him screaming!" he confessed, the horrible memories forcing their way back, "it went on and on and on until… nothing. Whatever that thing was, it wasn't Makoto anymore."

"It's okay, it's okay…" she whispered into his ear. She couldn't even imagine what Pharos did to him—she didn't even _want_ to imagine. All she could do now was pick up the pieces that were left behind.

"I… I…" Minato choked back any tears that were threatening to spill. Not now. He wasn't going to do this now, and especially not here. "I… I wanna go home now."

Pulling back from the hug, Kotone reached out and tightly clamped onto his hand, "follow me."

…

…

…

"You think she'll find him?" Yukari asked, sitting on the sofa in the lounge with the rest of the team gathered around.

"I believe she won't stop until she does," Mitsuru answered, having resigned herself to trusting Kotone in finding him. In a way, the fate of Minato/Makoto had become a bit of a sore spot for her. Everything that had happened to him was because of what her grandfather did all those years ago, and yet he was the one who had been paying for it.

"Should we even be hoping she finds him?" Junpei asked, earning the stares of all of his teammates. "I mean, I feel for him but… he tried to kill all of us!"

"Can you blame him?" Ken spoke up, staring at his feet. "I was the same in a way. After I lost Mom, all I could think about was finding the person who killed her…"

"Y-Yeah, but…"

"But nothing," surprisingly, it was Akihiko who was the one who interrupted. In a way, he could understand the self-blame and hatred he felt. Just like him, Akihiko had lost his sister a long time ago. The only thing that made Minato's case different was that he had left his sister to burn alive out of fear, which only made it much worse. "It's not something you can just explain or understand."

Before Junpei respond, everyone heard the sound of the door opening and the sound of the rain falling outside. Turning towards the door, everyone saw Kotone walking back inside with numerous large droplets of water dripping from the bright red jacket she had worn to protect herself from the rain before leaving for school this morning.

"Kotone!" Everyone jumped out of their seats and ran to meet their leader who was now standing in front of the doorway, watching as her friends gathered around her, barely giving her any room to do so much as breath.

After everyone asked copious amounts of questions asking if she was all right considering the rainstorm she was in and how they were worried before she was inevitably asked, "So… did you find him?"

Kotone looked back towards the door with a smile on her face—like the one a mother would give their child on their first day of school. Heading back outside for a moment, Kotone came back hand-in-hand with the blue-haired boy with his hood up and smiling wryly for his girlfriend's sake.

"… hey," Minato spoke feebly, unable to put any force in his voice after everything.

"…" as expected, everyone was left speechless as they saw the same boy who just a few weeks ago had most of them on their knees—figuratively and literally. Even excluding that fact and blaming it all on Pharos, how can they still keep him around?

"Yuki," Mitsuru was the first to speak up and greet him.

"Not now… not anymore," Minato shook his head slowly, "He's… gone, even Pharos. I guess you could call me the genuine article."

"Are you saying you're the only personality left?" Fuuka asked.

Minato scoffed, "You just don't get it. My mind never split—my soul broke into three pieces. The one who shared my name died saving all of you, Makoto just couldn't handle it anymore, and now it's just me."

"And we're supposed to just believe that?!" Again, all eyes were on Junpei, "I mean, even if you're not lyin' to us, how do you know that it's not just hiding or something! Next thing we know, you go all evil again and kill us in your sleep."

"Why you—" Minato put his arm in front of Kotone before she could either go on a diatribe or get physical with her old friend.

"Simple—you'd be dead already," Minato gave a short and concise response, having shifted his voice into a slightly deeper pitch as his eyes focused on the capped boy, "but go ahead. Getting rid of me is quality insurance that nothing happens to you unawares."

"I-I… uh… I-I wasn't sayin'…" Junpei fumbled between his words, feeling the glares from everyone else intensify.

" _Idiot,"_ Minato thought shaking his head as he decided to change the subject before he gave Junpei any more reason to either fear to despise him. "I don't suppose anyone knows what happened to my earphones, do they?"

"Ooh, I know," Kotone chirped, "I've been keeping your things in my room for safekeeping! Lemme go get 'em!" With that, the redhead ran up the stairs, leaving Minato alone with SEES—the very people he had spent most of the year ridiculing and the rest trying to murder.

"It's… nice to see you're back," Yukari attempted to reach out to him. It wasn't like anyone could pretend everything didn't happen, but still, he of all people deserved another chance after everything he's had to go through all alone for ten years.

"Back would imply you've seen me before," Minato's reply was short and sharp, "meet would be more appropriate."

"Still, we're happy to see you back to normal, Minato-kun," Fuuka extended her pleasantries.

"Normal…" Minato scoffed before taking a step back and giving all of them an intense stare with his dull blue-grey eyes, "let's not kid ourselves, we all know I shouldn't be here. I'm a murderer, a liar, and Makoto was borderline sociopathic at times."

Mitsuru shook her head, "No, Arisato you're—"

"Don't write me off as some innocent little saint that got possessed," Minato cut her off with cold vehemence in his voice, "Makoto was still me in a way, so by extension, I've done more horrible things than you can ever dream of. Junpei's right, the smart thing to do would be to get rid of me."

Before anyone could even say anything in response, Minato's stare softened, his posture began slightly more hunched as if to add to the look of vulnerability, and the wry smile returned on his face as Kotone descended the steps with his MP3 player in hand.

"Here you go!" Kotone beamed at him as she handed his accessory back to him, but with a pair of unfamiliar sky-blue earphones. Seeing the confused look in his eyes, Kotone said, "Sorry, your old ones got too banged up to work anymore. But Fuuka-chan was able to make you some new ones!"

Minato turned his gaze towards the demure girl who merely gave a nod in confirmation, "… thanks."

The bluenette put the earphones around his neck again and turned back to the sole reason he came here, "the old room I stayed in is still fine, right?"

Kotone nodded, "Uh-huh! Perfect place for you to stay from now on!" taking him by the hand, she led him up the stairs, not noticing the looks of uncertainty from the rest of her teammates. Minato knew that they wouldn't kick him out—their moral code wouldn't allow it. Still, he had to keep them on their toes somehow, even if that meant they scorned him in the end.

When the two reached the same room that Minato/Makoto had stayed in during his previous stays at the dorm, Kotone stood next to the bed scratching the back of her head as he stood by the door.

"I guess I can't exactly treat this like it's your first time staying here, can I?" she asked rhetorically, letting out soft nervous laughs with a faint touch of red on her cheeks.

"I need some time alone," Minato's low voice quickly changed the mood. "Sorry, I just… need some time to think."

"O-Oh, sure!" Kotone nodded, smiling as bright as the day he first met her back in April. Before she left, Kotone was sure to wrap her arms around the bluenette one more time and give him one last hug, "You know, I don't care if you're the one I fell for or not," she said resting her head on his shoulder, "it just means that I can fall for you all over again."

"I think that's why he fell for you," He looked down, his dull bluish-grey eyes meeting her bright crimson ones, "you're the only one who made him feel like he still had a place somewhere."

"That's him," Kotone said, lifting her head off his shoulder and standing on her toes, "what about you?"

Minato lowered his head and press his lips against hers again in another short but sweet kiss. He didn't deserve this—any of this, but this was what made her happy and he would be damned before he hurt her any more than he already has.

Pulling back from the kiss and gently caressing her cheek with his hand, he answered, "I don't care where I go—as long as it's with you."

"You spoil me."

"Least I can do."

Kotone giggled as she left, slowly closing the door while waving goodbye. And just like that, Minato was all alone again—this time, for real.

" _So, here I am."_ Minato thought to himself as he lied on his bed. He came here hoping to learn what happened that set Pharos loose ten years ago, learned it, tried to kill SEES, and now he's here.

"Who are you…," He whispered to himself. He wasn't lying when he said he was the closest thing there was to the 'real' Minato, but what did that make him? That boy died on the bridge ten years ago, leaving him as nothing more than a husk—one that wasn't even so much as a shadow of who he once was.

Yet, the husk still feels everything—love, hate, emptiness, mourning, concern. If he wasn't a husk, then what was he? He wasn't the same boy who had Death sealed inside of him, yet he was. He was alive, yet dead. Everything was so simple now, yet confusing. He was at war within himself, yet a peace. Nothing made sense anymore…

He was the one who left Minako to burn…

He was the one who felt the pain of Death being sealed inside of him…

He was the one who chose to watch everything and relinquish control, unable to cope with what he had done…

Was he Makoto? Was he that other Minato? Was he—the so-called original Minato? Was he all of them? Was he none of them, left with only confusing thoughts that fooled him into thinking he's the remnants of the first Minato?

That's not even taking into account his past sins when Makoto was holding the reigns. There wasn't a single feeling that he felt that wasn't also shared/born from him is some shape or form. Does that make him responsible for everything Makoto had done before? Or was he merely a helpless bystander during it all?

So many questions—so little answers. For now, at least he had her. She was kinder and sweeter to him than a monster like him deserved, but she was the only thing he had right now. Otherwise, what was he even living for right now?

After a while, the Dark Hour began to settle in, almost as if to flaunt the fact that it still existed. Despite all of SEES' efforts, in the end, they've changed nothing. Shaking his head and sighing, Minato closed his eyes and slept.

…

…

…

It had been several days now since he'd gotten out of the hospital, and naturally, there were a lot of rumors going around the school regarding his absence. Some were rather mundane, buying the excuse that the strange incident that resulted in a large amount of the city being damaged also led to his injury, to the extreme saying that he was diagnosed with a terminal illness—probably as a means to explain his sudden passive behavior.

Whatever the case, Minato preferred to keep to himself figuratively and literally. He had a lot of things to make up for, but that was about all he was concerned about as he did his usual zoning out. Luckily for him, the rumors about him were quickly drowned out by rumors of the transfer student that had come as a complete surprise to everyone.

Speaking of which, "Nice to meet you!" The student had approached him for whatever reason.

Minato looked up from his desk to see a student around his height (maybe slightly taller) with slicked-back hair, pale blue eyes, and a yellow scarf wrapped around his neck. "… Get going."

"Ouch," the boy winced and was taken aback for a few moments, "not even giving me a chance to introduce myself, huh?"

"I don't need any more friends," Minato replied, looking down at his desk again, "anyway, it's…" his name almost slipped out. No, he was only called Minato by Kotone (who passes it off as a nickname or something) or alone with SEES, "…. Makoto."

"Nice to meet you, Makoto," the new student must've been either thick-skulled or pertinacious, "I'm Ryoji Mochizuki."

"Hiya," coming from the seat next to Minato was his redheaded girlfriend, "I'm Kotone Shiomi. Nice to meet you, too!"

"…" Minato only saw it for a second, but he could've sworn he saw Ryoji scowl for a moment there, though no one seemed to pay it any mind. "I better get to my seat before Toriumi yells at me," he murmured before doing just that.

"He seems nice," Kotone whispered to the bluenette.

"Yeah," Minato couldn't help but occasionally glance at the boy's direction. He couldn't place his finger on it, but something about the boy felt… strange. It felt like this odd combination of familiarity and perilousness, "right…"


	62. Chapter 62

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the last un-rewritten chapter. Everything after? They're rewrites. Not great, but they're there.

"Try not to lunge," Minato advised, taking an almost casual step to the side as his girlfriend did just what he advised not to do, not only missing him but also almost losing her footing as she stumbled past him.

Letting out a groan, Kotone turned around and readied herself with a sword in her hand. "Remind me why we're doing this again?"

"Because you can't always rely on one weapon," Minato answered, hands in his pockets and one earphone in. "If Makoto had been in his proper state of mind while fighting you, we wouldn't be talking."

"Says this _after_ I saved his ass," Kotone muttered as she prepared to attack again. She had no idea how he managed to convince Mitsuru to allow him to use Shinjiro's old room as a personal dojo or something. Luckily, the room was pretty barren anyway, so they didn't have to remove a lot of furniture for this.

"Fine then," Minato reached out his left hand and summoned one of his blades. "Now I'm right-handed so you should have no excuse. Just give me a little tap, and I'll make you an entire buffet."

"Ooh, you're going down," Kotone grinned now having more than enough motivation to send Minato falling flat on his ass. Not only was Minato using his off-hand, but he didn't even bother to raise it or even get into a proper stance. This fight was all hers…

Minato studied Kotone's stance and noticed a slight error, "spread your legs a bit more."

Kotone's face instantly became red when she registered what he just said, "w-w-what?"

"Your stance," Minato sighed, remembering why he was hesitant to be the one to train her but Junpei used his sword like a goddamn bat and Mitsuru... there were too many awkward feelings between him and her for him to ask. "Whatever, just attack already."

Following his orders, Kotone charged at the bluenette who remained almost completely idle and raised her sword above her head and—

Kotone's attack was stopped before it could begin when Minato grabbed her wrist with his free hand and brought his blade to her throat. "Another small tip," he whispered, "try to avoid raising it over your head too much."

Minato let her go and took a step back before placing his hands in his pockets again once the sword dissipated. Kotone groaned, "But I've seen _you_ do that!"

"I can fight with dual swords while wearing a mask _and_ a hood on, one of which is extremely impractical without _a lot_ of practice and others are blinding," Minato retorted, "Sorry Sweetheart, but you're not at my level."

"O-Oh," she said as her face went red again.

"What? I didn't say another accidental innuendo, did I?" Minato tilted his head.

"N-No," Kotone shook her head with her lips forming a sheepish smile, "J-just… I like it when you call me Sweetheart."

"Oh" and here it was again. He chose this, but it didn't make it much easier. Every sweet little moment like this was quickly accompanied by the images of when the two of them were forced to fight each other to the death. He loved her, but he also knew that this wasn't a life a monster like him deserved.

The thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly felt Kotone's arms wrap around him for another hug. She felt his body suddenly tense from surprise, before quickly relaxing and returning her embrace with his own. "Thanks for the lessons, Blue," she thanked before pulling back, "with the Dark Hour still around, I'm sure I'll need 'em."

"Sure thing," Minato nodded, not able to shake off the wistful sensation he felt whenever he was around her. It didn't matter how he felt, as long as she was happy.

Kotone left a peck on his cheek before taking a step back, "I gotta run now, but my door's always open…" her eyes widened for a moment, "I-I mean, I… I'm just going to go now." With a bright red face, she quickly left the room while humming some tune that Minato didn't recognize and shutting the door.

Minato sighed before sitting against the wall. She'd been around him twenty-four-seven ever since he got here, so now he finally had his chance to be alone. Reaching for his phone in his pocket, he dialed a number.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end greeted.

"Your name's Rio, right?" Minato asked, wanting confirmation of the identity of the person he called.

"Who is this?!" that answered that.

"Oh, right, we haven't met yet," Minato shook his head. He had 'borrowed' the number from Kotone's phone a few days ago when she 'misplaced' it a few days ago, which would mean that he's probably hitting a solid seven or eight on the stalker meter, "I'm Kotone's… boyfriend." How did such a simple word become so hard to say?

"Oh really?" Of course, there was quite a bit skepticism to be had; it made sense, especially after his rather poor attempt at an introduction.

"How do you want me to prove it?" Minato groaned, thinking it probably would've just been simpler to just go to her directly.

"All right, where was your first date then?"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait…" Minato leaned forward, genuinely baffled for a moment, "she _told you_ when and where our first date was!? Are you serious?! Oh god, what else did she tell you?!"

"Yup, you're Makoto-kun all right," Rio could be heard giggling on the other end causing Minato to groan. He certainly was going to have to ask Kotone exactly what she's been saying to her other friends.

"Ugh, whatever, I just needed to ask for a favor," Minato cut to the chase, wanting to just get this over with as quickly as he could. "Look, just… keep her busy on Thursday, okay? Take to mall or shrine or whatever, just don't let her go back to her dorm for… let's say three to four hours."

"That's it? Why do you need me to—" Rio's voice suddenly stopped, perhaps remembering the importance of that date, "… take all the time you need."

"Thanks," Minato sighed in relief before handing up.

Step one: Set up a distraction – complete

Step two: Think of what to do – In-progress

…

…

"Fucking hell," Minato muttered, sitting on a bench in some part of the city that he didn't even care enough to know the name of. He's been thinking about it ever since the whole incident with Pharos, and he still has nothing.

He was able to get Yukari on board with the whole idea already (although lying that he already had something in mind was needed), Fuuka took it upon herself to handle buying/hiding gifts, Junpei wasn't given much of a choice after Yukari's 'persuasions' a.k.a threatening to beat him to a pulp, Akihiko would probably be best left out of the loop, for now, Mitsuru didn't raise any objections, and Ken thought it was a nice thought. In other words, Step 1.5: Get everyone onboard — complete. Now if he could only finish step two…

Dammit, how hard could just this one simple thing be?! He's managed to get away with crimes ranging from petty theft to murder, yet he couldn't do this?

Then again, that wasn't him, now was it? It was, yet wasn't. The line was just so blurred when it came to all three of his selves. How much was him, and how much was just them? Were they all just him in a way? Where do his sins and Makoto's diverge?

Moments like this, he began to miss the _other_ self that also called itself Minato. Inheritor was such a strange one. He was the least affected by Death, the most willing to move on, and managed to adopt the younger Minato's mannerisms even better than the so-called 'real' Minato, 'Foundation' had. But he was gone now, and there was no running away from his past anymore.

Minato groaned, shaking his head before grabbing a fistful of his hair. The only reason he's even here to have these regrets and think of these things is because of her, so all he wants to do is make her happy however he can. So why is it, no matter how hard he tries, he just can't think of anything? Are displays of basic affection that foreign to him?

"You look like you're deep in thought." Minato looked up and saw Ryoji of people standing beside him.

"What're you doing here?" Minato asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," Ryoji countered, sitting on the free spot next to the blue-haired boy, "Is that how your elders taught you to greet someone?"

"No. Did yours teach you how to dodge questions?"

Ryoji winced at that response, "Ouch, you're ice-cold."

"I get that a lot," Minato shrugged, "I guess you could say it was something that rubbed off on me."

"Maybe that person wasn't the best influence?"

"You're still dodging the first question." Minato turned and turned his empty stare into ice-cold daggers.

"All right, all right," Ryoji threw up his hands surrendering, "I just wanted to get familiar with the city and bumped into you along the way."

"And why don't I believe that?"

"Not _everyone_ has an ulterior motive for everything they do, you know." Ryoji's insistence was enough to even give Kotone a run for her money. Still, for some reason, Minato highly doubted that he was here by sheer coincidence.

"Whatever," Minato muttered. There wasn't any way to prove his suspicions true or false, so might as well roll with it. "Anyway, yeah, I _have_ been thinking a lot."

"About…?"

"It's Kotone," Minato murmured, unaware that Ryoji unconsciously began balling his hands into a fist, "I just… I want to do something for her."

"She means a lot to you," Ryoji said, his voice sounding flat almost tranquil, "doesn't she?"

"Yeah," Minato nodded. The redheaded girl had done so much for him in such a short amount of time they had known each other—forcing her way through the walls he had built up, staying with him despite his many efforts to push her away, being the first person he had ever cared about ever since he lost everything… she was more than a walking corpse like him deserved. "I just _need_ to do something special for her, okay?"

"I see," Ryoji nodded. It became apparent how much that girl as well as this event that he was trying to plan meant to him. If it meant something to him, then, "Say no more!"

"Huh? What the—Aahh!" Next thing Minato knew, he was being dragged around by Ryoji who had taken ahold of his right arm.

"All right, so I'm going to need details," Ryoji ordered, continuing to hold onto Minato despite the boy's many attempts to free himself, "also, the important thing to note: it's always the small and simple things that mean the most…"

And so began a long, long, long, long, long day for poor Minato.

…

…

…

"So get this," Kotone leaned forward in her seat, grinning at her ponytailed friend sitting across from her, "he's left in front of the entire school in nothing but his undies and you know what happens? Everyone slowly began clapping and just gave him a round of applause."

"Pft," Rio had to put a hand to her mouth to muffle her laughter, lest she cause an even bigger scene in the restaurant they were currently in, "what then?! What then?!"

"All right, all right," Kotone cleared her throat and continued, "he went red, thanked everyone, and marched down the hallway to the nurse's office as he'd just aced exams."

"You're kidding!"

"Nope," Kotone shook her head, "and for the rest of the year, he was considered a living legend by the students and staff alike."

"Wow," Rio slumped back into her seat, "sounds like your last school was something."

"Certainly wasn't boring," Kotone giggled, grabbing one a French fry she had ordered earlier. "Not that it's too bad here though."

"Why _did_ you come here?" Rio asked.

Kotone shrugged, "got a scholarship and I went for it… well, that and my dad thought it'd be good for me."

"Sounds like your dad cares about you."

Kotone nodded, "Uh-huh. It was rough for him when Mom left us but he's been good to me." Suddenly, she let out a groan, "But his love-life since… my god, there are no words for that one."

"Ooh," Rio cringed at the thought, "how hopeless is he?"

"Hopeless is a compliment."

"Ouch," Rio was about to say something else but stopped to check her phone once it went off. "Uh-oh, looks like Kenji did something stupid again."

"What _kind_ of stupid?" Kotone asked before her eyes widened for a minute, "Wait, do you mean _that_ kind of stupid?!"

"God, he's hopeless," Rio shook her head, "speaking of which, why don't you go tend to _your_ love-life? We don't need you to end up like your dad too."

"Good thinking," Kotone laughed as she waved her friend goodbye. Minato had pretty much forced her into going out with Rio earlier today saying that she needs to relax with her friends earlier. In a way, maybe that was also a good thing? She'd been afraid to leave him alone for too long in light of everything with Pharos, not to mention how the Stupei himself couldn't seem to keep his mouth shut. That being said, it was nice to relax and goof off with her friend for a while. Alas, it was time that she went back to the dorm.

Come to think of it, her link with Minato still wasn't at its max rank—wait, was it a link with Minato or Makoto? Was there even a difference in that regard? Shaking her head, she made a mental note to ask Igor about this someday.

…

…

"She's coming!" Fuuka warned everyone, running away from the windows.

"Okay, everyone get into position!" Minato whisper-yelled, silently running to the spot he had chosen… which was also conveniently being shared with the dorm's guest.

"Everyone ready?" Ryoji asked the others, taking care to keep his voice low.

"Shut up!" Yukari probably would've hit the boy on the back of his head had they not been forced to sit back and wait lest they ruin everything.

Just a few more moments and—

The doorknob finally turned and a familiar short girl stepped inside, "I'm ba—"

"Happy birthday!" Everyone shouted as loud at the top of their lungs, leaving Kotone completely stunned.

After a few moments of silence, Ryoji tilted his head and spoke up, "Wait, wasn't it supposed to be 'surprise' and _then_ happy birthday?"

"That… makes a lot of sense actually," Minato found himself agreeing that he and the others had just screwed up.

"You're kidding me…" Yukari facepalmed.

"Did we mess it up?" Fuuka asked just as embarrassed as the rest of them.

"D-D-Did…" everyone looked and saw Kotone blinking rapidly and speechless, "you… you guys remembered my birthday?"

"It was Ari—" Mitsuru paused when she remembered the presence of the dorm's guest, "this was Yuki's idea. "

Suddenly, all eyes were on Minato who was looking down in such a way that his hair hid even more of his face than usual, "Ryoji helped me plan it. As for me, I just… well, we didn't get to properly celebrate my birthday and… C-Can we move on please?"

Kotone shook her head and muttered, "God, you're such an idiot." Flashing him a large smile, she ran up to the bluenette and wrapped her arms around him, "I can't believe you remembered."

"You told me that one time we went studying," Minato answered, "or rather, that game of truth and truth."

Ryoji's eye began to twitch uncontrollably as he watched those two along with the members of SEES. Why? What was it about this girl that always seemed to get under his skin? And why is it that seeing her with him makes him want to lash out here in now—only managing to keep himself in check by sheer force of will.

"Can't believe you remembered," Kotone pulled back beaming out him, "you made cake, right? What kind is it?"

Minato shrugged, "I didn't know what kind you liked so I just did half chocolate and half vanilla."

"You're the best, Blue." Kotone complimented before running off to the kitchen where she was probably going to spend most of her day.

"I-I think I need to go," Ryoji said, putting his arms behind his back so that no one else saw him digging his nails into his arm to keep himself under control.

"Same," Minato chuckled, "I hate parties. I think it'd probably be a bit better for everyone if I keep my time down here shortly."

"No, I mean I think I should leave," Ryoji took a step back; a cautionary step in case he decided to try and get closer, "hope the two of you… e-enjoy yourselves." Why were those last two words so hard to get out?

Minato nodded, not paying enough attention to Ryoji himself to notice the slightly fidgety movements he was making, "Well, thanks for the help. Couldn't have done it without you." He thanked, somewhat dismissively as he was distracted when Junpei decided to pull a little prank by shoving cake into Kotone's face and vice versa… and was quickly being joined by the other members too—even Mitsuru seemed to be getting on it.

If there was anything that was a step away from slicing whatever thin strands of thread that was keeping him together, it was that last sentence from Minato, "Take care." Excusing himself as quickly as possible, Ryoji fled the dorm like a convict would flee a prison. He couldn't explain what it was, but something… something about that girl made him want to lose it.

…

…

Minato yawned as he sat at his desk. He'd stayed down there for an hour or two before retreating upstairs into his room. He'd always hated parties, even before the accident. Although, he always ended up attending them thanks to the little she-devil he shared a birthdate with.

Of course, none of that mattered now, did it? She was gone, and there was no getting her back. He may have survived that day, but that didn't mean he necessarily lived through it either. Whoever that boy was ten years ago, he wasn't him now and he couldn't ever be him again.

"Hello~," a familiar voice chirped from the other side of the door.

"Coming!" Minato pushed in his seat and opened the door for the birthday girl, "congratulations on your seventeenth birthday."

"Thanks," Kotone smiled some more before stepping inside and closing the door behind her, "although, I would've preferred if you were down there to say it with all the others too."

"I was!"

"You didn't even stay for the presents!"

"Well, I…" Minato gave up, there was no winning this, "all right, I just really don't like parties."

"And yet," Kotone raised an eyebrow, "you coerced the others into doing this all for me?"

"What?! Hell no!" Minato acted defensively, "first off, the only coercing was done to Junpei and I didn't do any of that! Yukari was the one who—"

"You've been a bad boy, Minato," Kotone grinned, sliding her hand down behind her before a faint click was heard from the door behind her, "Looks like I'm going to have to teach you some manners."

Minato just remained completely still and blinked, "A-Are you… B-But… They could hear—"

Not even giving him time to finish his sentence, Kotone leaped onto him causing him to fall onto the bed with her straddling him.

"Now, now Minato," Kotone grinned, hovering over the blushing Minato, "I'm the birthday girl, remember? Whatever I say goes, now…" she lowered her head until her face was mere centimeters away from his as her hands began tearing at his shirt, "just shut up and make love to me."

…

…

Kotone let out one last lust-filled moan before collapsing on top of Minato, leaving the both of them panting heavily to get the air back in their lungs.

"T-T-That…" Kotone panted, reaching towards to sheets to covered the both of them and rested her head on him just like she'd done before, "that… I think I know what my favorite birthday present was."

"Pft," Minato couldn't help but try and suppress a laugh, "always knew you were a wanton."

Kotone sat up and glared daggers into him, "make that joke again, and next time I'll use my teeth."

"Sorry! Sorry! Bad joke!" Minato shuddered at the mere implication of such an occurrence.

"That's what I thought," Kotone smiled and rested her head again, "Mm, I missed this."

"Um… what part of this? The cuddling or the sex?" Minato found himself asking. The glare that he received shortly after was quick to make him take back that statement, "Joking! Joking! Sorry.

"Just, this," Kotone answered, "being here with you, feeling like there isn't a care in the world."

"Oh," Minato felt his heart sink, but he wouldn't dare let her know why "I missed this too… although, last time we just went straight to sleep."

Kotone giggled, "You went out like a light," she remembered just how quickly he fell asleep the first time they made love together—the same day they finally became the couple they were now.

"Hey," her voice suddenly became very tranquil, "can I tell you a secret?"

"You know most of mine," Minato replied, "only fair if I know yours too."

"True," Kotone agreed before letting out a sigh, "my mom tried coming back to me."

"Huh?"

Kotone turned to face the ceiling, "One day, she just… came back to me. Dad and I had moved since, so I don't even know how she found me," she explained, "she tried saying she was sorry, that she regretted leaving me, and that she still loved me."

Kotone shook her head, "but I just couldn't. After all those years abandoned, I just couldn't do. I told her that I wanted nothing to do with her, and I couldn't help but enjoy the look on her face as I broke that bitch's heart for what she did to me and Dad. I left her alone in the street to cry her eyes out. She tried contacting me a few more times, but it was always the same until it just stopped. I never told anyone about it—not even Dad."

"Minato, we both know I'm selfish but," Kotone turned back to face the bluenette, "should I… have given her a chance? I never even knew why she left; I just hated that she abandoned me and him without a word."

"I can't tell you," Minato admitted, the sinking he felt only got worse and worse, "just like with what happened to me: there's nothing you can do to change it. All you can do is make sure it doesn't repeat itself."

"Heh, look at me?" Kotone laughed, "we're supposed to be happy and here I am ruining the mood."

"Hey, hey…" Minato reached out and pulled her back towards him. Despite her fighting it, Minato still felt a few tears fall from her eyes onto his chest. "It's okay."

"Minato," she called out to him, weakly and the sound of his breathing almost drowning out her voice, "can you hold me?"

"Always," he answered, pulling her in close and allowing her to rest her head on him. 

Nothing else needed to be said; nothing else could be said. For once, they could have a peaceful night—no Pharos, no shadows, no Dark Hour—nothing but the two of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .... You know, I originally had a lemon up of this scene too. Nope. It's gone now. Never to be seen again... and I hope it stays that way.
> 
> Also... goddamn, Kotone is aggressive. I mean, she was supposed to know what she wants, but... fuck, upon further review, I took it further than I thought.


	63. Chapter 63

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first of many rewritten chapters.

"Hey, Minako," Minato muttered, staring at Jack Frost doll that he had brought over and was now sitting on his desk, "can I ask you something?"

The entire world just seemed very… still. Likely because of how early it was in the morning combined with the dorm's location, there weren't even the usual sounds of cars or pedestrians from outside. The only thing that could be heard was the slow, steady breathing that Minato heard from Kotone who was still sleeping in his bed. Luckily, the heater for the dorm worked like a charm too, so the temperature also felt rather comfortable despite Minato currently being shirtless.

"Do you remember that time you tried tying your hair back, only to get it tangled up in so many knots that we just had to cut most of your hair?" Minato smiled at the memory, chuckling to himself when he remembered her crying for days about it, "the whole time you complained about looking like a boy. Mom and Dad even got us mixed up a couple of times because of how much we looked alike at first glance."

Minato sighed, leaning back into his chair while looking at the motionless doll. No matter what he said, he wasn't going to get an answer. She was dead, and there was no changing that. Having spent years with a literal god, his belief of something resembling Heaven or Hell was flimsy at best. Still, there was a way that she was still hearing him, then he'd like to say everything he could whether he'd be able to get an answer or not.

"Whatever happened to those days?" Minato asked, looking away from the doll and out the window where the sun was slowly rising, "me poking fun of how boyish you looked, you calling me a scaredy-cat because of how timid I was, both of us being completely terrified of our Mom's wrath when we did something wrong…"

Minato just shrugged, closing his eyes before the traces of a very faint half-smile formed, "It's alright though—at least, for now. I think I found someone you can mom would approve of and—"

"Urgh…"

Minato looked back and saw that Kotone was beginning to shift and turn in the bed, slowly waking up until she raised her hands and rubbed her eyes.

"Mm, wakey, wakey Blue," Kotone murmured before reaching out to the other side of the bed, but she was greeted only by an empty mattress.

Fearing the worst given the past few weeks, Kotone's eyes shot open before sitting up on the bed, quickly scanning the room until focusing on a certain blue-haired boy who'd woken up a while before her waving with a smirk on his face.

"Why, wakey, wakey Red," Minato used her words right back at her, "hope you slept well."

Kotone let out a relieved sigh once she saw that everything was still all well and good, "it would've been better if you stayed in bed," she murmured, lying back down, "What were you thinking scaring me like that? God, you're such an idiot."

"Sorry," Minato apologized, keeping his voice low as to not cause to much noise this early in the morning. Getting out of his chair, Minato sat back down of what was his side of the bed, "There, better?"

"A bit," Kotone gave a smile and nod. Suddenly, her expression became sheepish as she looked away and tried hiding her face with the sheets and her hair, "and, about last night… um… about what I said… I was—I mean, I _am_ so happy you're back, and after mentioning everything with my mom, I just ended up saying—"

"It's all right," Minato assured, lying back down, "it's not like I'm going to make fun of you for it."

"But," Kotone supported herself with her arms, "didn't you think that was a bit—okay, _really_ cheesy. Not to mention, a bit too soon to be mentioning?"

"I guess," Minato continued to just shrug it off, "I just want to enjoy the time we have right now. Life's screwed me over in just about every way imaginable, so I just want to enjoy a moment where nothing is going on for once—just the two of us in this room… with a Senpai who's going to be pissed when she finds out what we did last night."

"Meh, let her say what she wants," Kotone giggled, resting her head, "I'm not the one who's going to be executed."

"Wait, what?" What was that about being _executed_ now?

"Oh, right," Kotone had forgotten to warn him that Mitsuru made it quite clear that she wasn't going to allow her and Minato to do any 'unscrupulous' things under the dorm's roof—leave it to her to act like the team's mom, "let's just say Mitsuru-senpai won't be happy to see you."

"Tch, whatever," Minato rolled his eyes, and without thinking the next words just slid out, "whatever she does, I've lived through worse."

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did he have to go on and say that, of now of all times?! The surprised look on her face was quickly replaced with the same despondent look she had just a few weeks ago when she first saw what Makoto had become.

"Hey," Kotone said softly, tracing one of his scars with her index finger, "none of that anymore, okay? We just need to take care of the Dark Hour, and then we can forget any of this ever happened."

"… Right," Minato muttered the first response that he could think of before glancing at the clock. Makoto and Pharos were both gone; he shouldn't be bringing them up so casually. "Hate to be that guy, but we still have school today."

Kotone let out a soft whine, latching onto him tightly. "Fifteen more minutes."

"Five."

"Ten?"

"Seven."

"Deal."

…

…

Minato was the first one down into the lounge, literally biting his tongue when he made it to the ground floor. Not long ago, he was about to slaughter everyone in this room—now he's going to have to have breakfast with them.

That being said, being greeted by the uncomfortable glances he got from everyone didn't make him feel much better. It looks like he was right to be hesitant last night, but at least she enjoyed herself. He's on the right track with everything, right?

Minato kept his head down once he sat down at the table. How exactly was he supposed to just eat breakfast with everyone? Wait, when was the last time he had breakfast with anyone? Good lord, he was hopeless.

" _Ahem,_ " Junpei coughed from across the table, unable to bear the silence anymore, "so uh…"

Of course, the person he has to deal with first is Junpei. Time to see if he was as dumb as he thought he was.

Minato slowly raised his head, and just gave Junpei a cold empty stare. There wasn't any emotion behind it, it was just a blank stare but still, the single eye focused solely on Junpei made his skin crawl.

"Y-You uh… Um…" Junpei fumbled between his words. This was the same guy who nearly killed him a few weeks ago—what was he supposed to say?

Minato merely tilted his head and even one such as Junpei could understand the unspoken words that he was saying. _"Say it,"_ Minato dared him to gamble his life, _"go on, say it. I dare you to say it."_

Junpei let out a soft whimper and he swore he felt the temperature drop despite Pharos having long since left Minato at this point. Minato's fringe shifted slightly so that his right eye was now peeking out between his bangs making the empty yet somehow intense stare so much more brutal.

" _What's wrong?"_ Minato's unspoken words continued to reach Junpei, _"you know you want to say it, don't you? Try it, and see what happens."_

Too much! Too much! He couldn't take it anymore!

"W-W-Why'd you smash my laptop?" Junpei quickly changed the subject, unable to withstand Minato's gaze anymore.

"Why _wouldn't_ I smash your laptop?" Minato's reply was instant, almost like he knew that Junpei was going to shift the subject to his destroyed possession, "need I remind you what you made Makoto—and by extension me—watch?"

Junpei winced at the venom in Minato's words, "You ain't gonna let that go, are you?"

"Makoto wanted to disembowel you," Minato answered, leaning forward and lowering his voice to a gentle whisper but this only made his icy-tone worse somehow, "and believe me; he would've, with you being awake the entire time."

Junpei gulped, silently praying to whatever gods would hear he prays to please end this torment right now. It was a mistake! Starting this entire conversation was a mistake!

Luckily for the capped boy, his prayers were answered in the form of Kotone descending the stairs which caused Minato's gaze to break and instead glance back at the redhead. Ignorant of what had been transpiring and the current mood, she gave everyone a quick wave as she went to the kitchen.

"Want anything?" Kotone asked, hunching over the back of the bluenette's chair and wrapping her arms around him to give him a small hug.

"Toast sounds nice," he answered, earning him a swift peck on the cheek before curveting into the kitchen.

Minato's lips held a slight curve as his eyes remained glued to her back until she was out of sight. The first day here, and she already knows how to make it feel like a home.

Of course, then he turned his attention to the capped boy who was still standing looking as if he had seen some sort of horror show.

Nothing wrong with a little teasing, is there? "Something wrong, Junpei?"

"Nope!" Junpei was quick to speak; no doubt feeling like his life was on the line.

When she came back, Kotone couldn't quite understand why, but for some reason, Junpei looked like he had just seen a shadow for the first time in his life all over again.

…

…

Before they made their way to school, there was someplace that he and he alone needed to go; a place that he hadn't been too for a very long time, and that all sides of him alike had been avoiding ever since they set foot on this island. It was a place filled with more memories than the dreaded Moonlight Bridge.

To the average person, this would just look like the average house. They're not wrong. This _is_ just an ordinary house. It was a decent place with a few quirks if you knew where to look but that's about it, but again, this is to the average person.

To Minato, however, the mere sight of the place he hadn't seen in slightly over a decade now made his blood run cold within his veins. He didn't know what (if anything) he'd gain by coming here but whatever it was that drew him here was quickly being overshadowed by whatever was left of his soul screaming at him to leave.

Strange wasn't one supposed to feel like they're… at home? This _was_ his home, right? What else could it be? This was where he grew up for a good portion of his early life, so why? Why did this place feel so empty?

Looking at it from the outside, it was kept in surprisingly good shape e over the years. Legally, the house was his, although whoever was covering the upkeep for this place was a mystery to him. He heard his aunt used it as a sort of vacation home before dying of… what was it, cancer? Oh wait, were they different people? How many aunts and uncles _did_ he have? Did anyone stay here during that time, or was that just something his uncle said in his drunken state?

Oh, Uncle… he hadn't thought about him in a while. Minato still remembers the day Makoto choked the life out of him with Thanatos, never looking away or flinching at what he was doing. Maybe it was then. Maybe that was when gave up trying to be someone he wasn't and decided to become the Dark Prince.

His body screamed at him: stomach-churning, legs wobbling, and mouth-drying as chains wrapped around him. The chains tightened around him, digging into his flesh and the bone beneath it.

His body was shivering from the cold sweat trailing down his back. The chain pulled harder, shredding the skin and muscle apart, cracking and breaking apart the bone and allowing its shards to fly free and lacerate anything in their path.

The chains crawled upwards, wrapping around his throat. The harder he tried to breathe, the tighter the chains would wrap around him, slowly choking the life out of him. He wasn't even halfway to the door before he felt vertigo beginning to set in.

He tried pushing forward, feeling the chains tearing him apart and suffocating him. Darkness began surrounding him as his vision began to fade…

Running away from something never felt so easy. When did he even start running? As his vision was going or after?

He didn't know. He didn't care to know.

What he did know was air felt so much easier the further and further he got. He felt he had just run a couple of marathons.

He couldn't—he simply couldn't bring himself to go there. He would sooner die a thousand deaths before going back there again.

Catching his breath and shaking his head, the bluenette slowly dragged himself to school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, Minato's got... some sort of complex.
> 
> He is the genuine article, not that he considers himself that... maybe... who knows? I should let you know that it is not unknown for me to lie in the AN/s in regard to what happens in the plot.


	64. Chapter 64

"So, you like playing chess?" Minato raised an eyebrow, looking at the board in front of him.

Ryoji shrugged, eyes closed with a slight little smirk on his face. "I just like board games. Why?"

"Nothing," Minato shook his head, looking down solemnly at the board and its pieces. Games like this brought back memories of someone else from a long time ago.

His opponent, however, took notice. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," Minato shook his head, "just nostalgia, I guess."

"You _guess?_ " Ryoji repeated.

"It's noth—"

"You say it's nothing again, and I might have to tie you in the chair until you talk." Ryoji was quick to make playful jokes and threats, not noticing the brief shiver that ran down the bluenette's spine at the mention.

Tie to down to a chair? He knew someone in a situation like that a few months ago; the smell of burning skin, the sound of bone-shattering from blunt force, and the screams that went unheard. Was Makoto always what he is now, or were that—and all the things he had done before—proof that the monster was always there, but Pharos just forced it out.

"Minato, you gotta tell me something," Ryoji asked, leaning forward, noticing the sudden paleness on the boy's face.

"It's noth—not something I'm comfortable sharing," Minato shook the memories out of his head. The dead should rest, and the monsters should be left undisturbed. "I just… remembered some things."

"Bad thing?"

"Terrible." Minato shivered. "Wait, what did you call me?"

"Makoto…?" Ryoji said slowly, taking a sip of the drink he had bought from the café they were currently in.

"Right, right, right." Minato shook his head. He was going to have to find a way to deal with hearing that name for a very long time now. "Are you ever going to move your piece?"

"Fine, fine…"

It did not take long for Minato to remember why he hated boardgames.

Ryoji favored talking during the game, always dividing his attention away from the events transpiring. Minato might have been able to multitask at first, but the constant divides of attention led him to fall into his enemy's hands.

When he attempted to maintain silence, Ryoji simply stopped moving entirely, trapping them both in an infinite staring contest until he caved and started talking again.

It was a dirty tactic, one that he always had difficulty countering. Unsurprisingly, it was also one that was favored by…

By…

"Minato?"

Minato shook his head, "It's no—I'm fine. I just… remembered someone."

Someone—is that what he was going to refer to him now?

He wasn't just someone.

For ten years, he was all he had. For ten years, he was the only person he could talk about the nightmares with, who understood him.

But then he…

Everything stopped. Their conversations, the strategies forming in his head, and any motion he was making completely ceasing in an instant.

"I'm sorry," Minato apologized, standing from his seat. "I just… I have to go."

"Wait, what?" Ryoji barely managed to get out, all too late it would seem as Minato was already dashing out the door, leaving him all by his lonesome.

* * *

The subject was hard to think about, yet impossible not to.

Even now, weeks after it happened, Minato could still feel everything that Pharos had done to him. Every hallucination he suffered was always on his mind in some way or another.

He remembered when he was forced to watch his sister burn again, complete with her always calling out for her brother to save her. One he will never forget was one of his parents cursing him, execrating him for the monster he had become, and how they were ashamed to have ever spawned him.

But even all of that paled to what he felt last: a piece of his soul dying. Makoto had gone into what could only be described as a state of dormancy, and Inheritor was just gone, leaving an indescribable void in his absence.

Now he always has the feeling that something missing. Despite this, he can never tell what is it that he's missing.

Was he missing his friend, only the person he had for those ten long years where he was all alone? The same friend who had tortured him for reasons beyond him.

Was he missing the him that died, the only one that persevered everything they had endured with stride? The same version of him that was everything he couldn't be; that died to save someone they loved.

No matter how much he asked himself, he would never receive an answer. Both of them are either gone or dead, leaving him all alone.

"Not yet," he said mumbling. He's not alone. For now, Minato still has Kotone, and maybe that's all he'll need.

And now, he's brought himself back here—where he swore he'd never return to.

" _So this is home, huh?"_ It was amazing how this place could be so familiar yet so foreign at the same time.

He could leave right now. Leave now to avoid the chains wrapping around him, trying to choke the life out of him as he approached.

No, not now. He has to stay strong. He has to try... just try. He owed it to _her_ and Kotone to try again.

The outside hardly looks any different than how he remembered it. This was the home of Minato Arisato before he lost everything and his other self swore to never return; too tempting and far too painful.

But Makoto was gone now. There was nothing left to keep Minato away from where he used to pull pranks on his sister, where they would yell at each other until their parents berated them both, causing them to reunite in their mutual disgruntlement.

There's only one here now. There's no Makoto or Pharos, but there's also no Minako, Mother, or Father.

Minato leans into the door, placing his head against the panel.

All it would take now is to insert the key and then turn the knob. If he opens the door, then all the memories would come flooding back in.

"No," he whispers. "That should be for Minato—the real one—not me."

Minato took a few steps back, never breaking eye contact with the building in front of him.

"But, I'm trying," Minat admitted, managing to force a gentle smile. "I don't know if I'll ever be him again. But I'll try, I swear."

The bluenette closed his eyes, remembering those who were dear to him. "Mom, dad, sis—I'll be back someday but not now."

Minato turned around, never looking back at the building behind him. Just like before, he couldn't enter, no matter how much he wanted to.

Maybe one day he will. Maybe that day, he won't be alone.

As he left, Minato could almost swear he heard the wind whispering to him.

"Brother…"

* * *

The next day, Minato was greeted by something he most certainly did not expect the first thing in the morning.

"We are going on a date," Kotone said. She wasn't asking or demanding. She was _informing_ him.

"What?" Minato let out a forced laugh in response, waiting for this to just be the set-up for some joke. But when no response came other than a rather fiery glare, he was quick to point out, "Um, you remember this is a school day, right?"

"Oh, my sweet, sweet, Minato," Kotone whispered his name, and for some reason, the smile she had on her face gave him the chills. "The morning after we spent our first night together, we said we'd have more kisses, more dates, you… probably spending all your money on me, and then more fun later on. Sorry hun, but I'm cashing that in."

"B-But… why now?"

"God, you're such an idiot!" Kotone groaned, nearly slamming her head into the wall. "No, it's okay Kotone. You don't need to get angry. Just explain yourself!"

Is she talking to herself now? _"Oh no,"_ he thought. Now she's the one losing her mind.

"Minato, I just… I need this, okay?" Kotone pleaded, grasping the boy's hands. "Just for today, no shadows, no Dark Hour—nothing but you and me."

"I…" Minato wanted to protest, if only because he did not want to feel the wrath of their redheaded senior, but seeing his girlfriend's lips pucker and her eyes soften proved to just be too much for him. "Fine, but you're handling Kirijo."

"Yay!" the girl shouted, literally bouncing up into the air for joy. "Get dressed, we've got a long day ahead of us, darling!"

"Darling," Minato repeated when she left his room. He was never going to tell her how much he loved hearing that.

* * *

"So…" Minato looked around uncomfortably, pulling on his collar, "what're we supposed to do?"

"I dunno," Kotone shrugged, "whatever we want."

Minato just kept looking around as the two just continued walking around hand-in-hand aimlessly in the city. Dates weren't something he was experienced in, even during his time as Makoto. Then again, maybe Makoto wasn't the best role-model in that regard.

"You're doing it again!" Kotone yelled in his ear which instantly shook him back into reality.

"Huh, what?" Minato asked, literally shaking in surprise.

"You're thinking something negative again!" Kotone said frowning in either anger or irritation, "I've known you long enough to tell when you're spacing out."

"Sorry."

"Look, Blue," Kotone sighed, stopping to stand in front of her boyfriend. "Today's about us; no shadows, no Dark Hour, no SEES—nothing else but the two of us." She said, gently squeezing his hand, "just for today, we're going to act like kids our age."

"… kids our age that is skipping school." Minato chuckled whilst smiling wryly. How long has it been since he last felt… normal? Inheritor never had the chance, Makoto was too obsessed with revenge… it sounded nice to feel normal again.

"Yup," she giggled, "we're gonna go out, maybe make a regrettable or question choice or five, and then laugh about it for the next five years."

"Yes, ma'am," Minato wasn't about to raise any objections. Besides, she wasn't going to take no for an answer today.

Before she could respond in any form, a cool breeze suddenly blew causing both of them to shiver as it left like the air had managed to get through their clothes and directly touch their skin. Well, that was certainly one way to tell them what to do.

"Looks like we need to do some clothes shopping," Minato said, looking down at his attire. His coat had been more or less ruined for a while now, ever since his... episode as Makoto _._ He'd been getting by so far just by wearing layers upon layers of clothing, but that didn't seem to be enough.

"No kidding," Kotone shivered, tightening the red scarf around her neck. "Good thing I have a lot of money from all the jobs I used to work, huh?"

Minato raised an eyebrow, "you used to work?"

"…" Kotone just stared blankly for several moments before coming up with, "where do you think I get my money?"

"I dunno," Minato shrugged, "most of mine are either from my foster family or I stole it."

"Minato…" Kotone said his name slowly and sternly, and he could just tell what was coming.

"… I plead not guilty on the account of insanity."

**_Smack_ **

"Ow." Minato rubbed the back of his head where he'd just been struck. It looks like he was going to have to strike the word insanity from his dictionary… and keep more of Makoto's activities secret.

* * *

"How's this?" Kotone asked, pulling out a black coat in one hand and a dark blue one in the other. "Like 'em?"

Minato blinked before letting out a sigh, "you know, I do wear colors other than blue and black, right?"

"You don't say," she deadpanned before putting the clothes back where she had found them. "You're not exactly being helpful here!"

"Sorry," he apologized, "I'm just not that used to shopping. Not helped by that fact that I didn't like large crowds back then."

"You could at least tell me a color…" Kotone groaned, feeling like she was helping a child. He's lucky she's head over heels for him by now.

"I dunno, maybe we could wear matching clothes with contrasting colors?" Minato suggested with a slight shrug, "That's a thing that couples do, right?"

"Hmm…" Kotone hummed to herself. Was it something people did? Crap, she should've paid more attention when other girls bragged about their dates or something! Ah, screw it! It was their date; their rules.

"Be right back!" Kotone said before hurrying off to some other part of the store. She could certainly move when she wanted to.

Minato still had his lips forming a slight smile when she ran off, "what does that girl see in me?"

Hating stores were one of the things Minato and Minako had in common back then, albeit for different reasons. Minato just hated being around so many people, while Minako just treaded being forced to get out against her will. Still, Mom always knew just how to convince the two of them—by promising them chocolate that they'd never get and forget about because they were too busy complaining to each other.

Mom was crafty, wasn't she?

Shaking the unusually pleasant memory out of his head, Minato's attention was then drawn to some scarves that were up for grabs. The colors were red, blue, purple, green, and yellow. Hmm… was this where Ryoji got his? Nah, he was too long.

Still, Kotone's wearing a red scarf. If they're going to go with this whole matching thing, then he might as well commit to it, even if that means breaking his own rule by grabbing the blue one.

"Oh, Blue!" Minato looked back and saw Kotone running up to him with two coats in her hands, one being about his size and red and the other being both his usual navy blue and smaller than the other one—hers. "How's this?"

"Red for me and blue for you, is it?" He asked rhetorically before lifting the scarf in his hand, "think this will be a nice little add-on? You know, with your scarf being red and everything."

"So yes then," Kotone smiled, both feeling somewhat proud of herself and thinking how cute the two of them would look. "And yes, I like the scarf too."

Well, that settled that.

* * *

"Ooh, over there!" Kotone stopped both of them to point to some seemingly random store. "Would you believe me if I told that's where Akihiko-senpai found Junpei?"

"Found Junpei?" Minato tilted his head.

"Yup, senpai found him in a ball crying and freaking out over the Dark Hour," Kotone explained, giggling at the mental images. "Ah, what I would give to have been there."

Now Minato was the one snickering. Oh if she only knew what she just did, then he'd be breaking into a full belly laugh.

"It is funny," Kotone laughed, unaware of what was going on in his head, "right?"

"It is," Minato admitted, "but I'm not laughing at that."

Suddenly, Kotone's giggling ceased and her smile became much fainter as she felt like she was walking into a trap suddenly, "w-wait what?"

"You just broke your own rule." Minato pointed out, smiling down on her cheekily, "you said we're normal, right? But then, you mentioned the Dark Hour."

Kotone's eyes widened as she realized her blunder, "B-B-B-But… But I… We… I…" she tried to conjure a response, but could only fumble between her words. Eventually, she figured it'd be better to admit defeat.

With a sigh, Kotone lowered her head, "All right, you win." She lamented, "you're not gonna hit me, are you?"

"Wait, so it's fine to hit me?" Minato was quick to point out the hypocrisy in that, giving her a cold glare. "Oh, so I just mean less, huh?"

"W-What?! N-No!" Kotone was quick to respond whilst shaking her head. "It was just a—I wasn't going to—I meant—"

"Pft," Minato's glare broke instantly as he snickered, finding more than just a little enjoyment at seeing his girlfriend fumble with her words that easily and quickly. "I'm just screwing with you."

"Wha—" Kotone was quick to put a sour look on her face and let out a "Hmph," as she turned away from him in anger. "You're still a meanie, even now!"

"Sorry, huh," Minato chuckled, still having a small grin on his face, "some things just don't change."

Kotone let out another sigh, wanting to drop the matter entirely. Why did she have to fall in love with such a jerk? Ah, who is she kidding? She can't stay mad at him.

"Remember when your justification for everything was, 'because I'm pretty'?" Minato asked, now thinking back to their earlier months during the school year.

"Oh right… that…" A hint of pink could be seen forming on Kotone's face at the memory. Those weren't her proudest moments.

"Where did that come from anyway?" Minato asked. "You don't seem like the bragging type."

"Oh, well…" Kotone scratched the back of her head and the pink in her cheeks was quickly becoming a bright shade of red, "it comes from something that used to happen when I was younger…"

* * *

**_Age – 5_ **

"H-Have all my crayons!" A boy exclaimed rather loudly before handing a box of crayons to the surprised redheaded girl.

"Um… thanks?" Kotone thanked, confused as to what brought this on. She didn't have a coloring book to color in. "Why are you givin' them to me?"

"B-Because your pretty!" The boy answered quickly, his face now being as red as an apple. He looked like he was about to say something else, but then he just turned tail and ran away as fast as he could.

Kotone was just left standing there, absolutely bewildered. He thought she was pretty? What'd that have to do with anything?

* * *

**_Age – 8_ **

"I wanna sit next to her!"

"No, me!"

"No, I am!"

Kotone could only watch in silence as multiple boys fought over just which one of them would just _sit next to her_! This was ridiculous! It's just a seat!

Of course, a teacher was quick to take notice and settled the issue by having one of the girls in the class sit next to the redhead, visibly lowering all of the boys' spirits.

"Why were they fighting over the seat?" Kotone whispered to the girl next to her.

The girl shrugged, "maybe it's because they thought you were pretty?"

"Oh…" Kotone said, sinking back in her chair, "I get it." was that just going to be their excuse for everything?

* * *

**_Age – 12_ **

"Hey, can you give Saki a hand in math class?" Kotone asked her male classmate. "I tried helping, but I guess I'm just not that great of a teacher."

"And why should I help her?" The pretentious boy asked, causing her to have to fight the urge to clock him then and there.

"… Because I'm pretty and I asked you to?" It got her through school this far, let's see how using that works now.

The boy seemed to think for a moment before shrugging, "Eh, why not? I don't have anything to do anyway."

Did… did that work?

* * *

Minato let out an empty, "Huh," after hearing that story. "And you've never had a boyfriend before?"

"Not until you," Kotone admitted with a blush still visible on her cheeks.

"Sounds like you were little miss heartbreaker when you were younger," he teased, "should I be worried?"

"Uh-uh," Kotone beamed back at him, "you're all mine, and I don't let go of things easily."

"Good, because neither do I." Truer words just might've never been spoken until today.

After a bit more aimless walking around and minor sight-seeing, the two eventually found themselves in Paulownia mall. It was getting late into the day now, so it was smart to be somewhere they could find something to eat easily rather than having to call it a night early and returning home.

Of course, Minato spotted the same old crane machine that Kotone had spotted Makoto using months ago. Come to think of it, there was one thing that Kotone asked him to do once that he got too angry over.

"Wait here for a moment, sweetheart." He asked, leaving her a little peck on the lips before shelling out some of his money on the crane machine.

If there was one thing Minato could give himself credit for, it was the fact that he had so much practice with these things that it was pretty much child's play at this point. These were all plushies he already owned, but these weren't different—these were made to fulfill his love's wish, not to grieve.

One Jack Frost, Black Frost, Pyro Jack, and one King Frost; he has gotten too good with these cranes. Eh, whatever, everyone has their little quirks, right?

"Um… what're you doing?" Kotone asked, wondering how to react to him suddenly carrying four plushies for seemingly no reason. Of course, she knew why he normally collected them now, but… why was he smiling the entire time then?

"Pick a bench," Minato answered, "I do believe you asked for a puppet show once."

"… I did?"

"Just sit down…"

* * *

In a land of… uh… Ice…

_Really?_

**_I didn't plan this ahead of time! Cut me some slack!_ **

In a frozen land—

_Why don't you just say Antarctica or something?_

**_Can I get past the first sentence?!_ **

_Sorry, sorry…_

In a… place, there were two brothers, each named Jack.

_What kind of parent would name both of their sons—_

**_You are the worst audience ever!_ **

Okay, there are two brothers! One is called Jack Frost, and the other known as the Jack O' Lantern but more commonly referred to by his friend as Pyro Jack.

One day, while the two were performing their usual duties—

_Wait, they have duties? What? Do they need to eat or something?_

**_Stop interrupting!_ **

Anyway, the two brothers suddenly heard a loud cry!

"Help! Help!"

The two rushed to the source of the voice, only to find their lord and liege King Frost being confronted by a black daemon!

_But he's just a black version of Jack Frost. Also, why is King so fat?_

"Jack! Jack! I need your help!"

_Was he calling out to both? One of them? A-Are you even listening to me!_

"Mwahahaha!" The daemon laughed! "I am Black Jack and imma destroy everything!"

"Oh no!" Jack cried out, "He's going to destroy our homes!"

_Wait, which Jack? … You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?_

"I'll stop him!" Jack declared before tossing a fireball at his enemy, only for it to do nothing.

"Mwahaha!" Black Frost laughed, "I won't be vanquished by a little fire! Soon, Imma smash this whole place!"

_Wait, so is this like our personas or something? Answer me!_

"No!" Jack refused, freezing Black Frost into a giant cube of ice.

_Shouldn't his King have been able to do that!_

**_Suspension of disbelief!_ **

_More like suspension of bullshit!_

However, the giant ice cube was almost immediately shattered and Black Frost returned to dancing in place with a grin on his face.

_He was dancing the entire time!?_

"Mwahaha! You can't beat me!" Black Frost laughed, "None of you can!"

"What do we do?!" Jack asked Jack.

_Oh, come on! You know this is confusing!_

"I have an idea!" Jack perked up, "Let's challenge him to a dance-off!"

_Okay, now you're not even trying._

**_What? Yes, I am!_ **

_Sure you are. I'm going to go and get us a table in that restaurant over there. Feel free to join me when you're ready._

**_What?! You can't just—but I… ah fuck! What do I do now? Ah, screw it! I'm finishing if it's the last thing I do._ **

Black Frost gasped, "A-A dance-off?! NO!" The very idea proved to be too much for the daemon who then spontaneously combusted for absolutely no reason.

With that settled the two Jacks each gave their king the finger for being a whiny bitch and then lived happily ever after.

_Sir, what are you doing?_

**_Ugh, goddammit…_ **

* * *

"So yeah," Minato groaned, "explaining that to an officer was awkward."

"Is that why he sat two tables away from us?" Kotone asked, laughing.

"Yup," Minato let out an exasperated sigh, "he must've thought I was a nutcase or something. He made the entire dinner uncomfortable as hell!"

"Well," Kotone up and saw that the day's blue sky had been replaced with night's numerous stars, "we have a few more hours to ourselves. Anything you want to do to enjoy the nightlife?"

"Hmm," Minato thought to himself for a moment before asking, "can we be clichéd as hell?"

Kotone laughed, "Kidding me? Go for it! Whatever we say goes!"

"Follow me then…" Minato said, taking lead.

It was nice to see him smiling and laughing again. Ever since everything with Pharos, he always seemed to be in a somber mood but now here he was doing a complete one-eighty.

Maybe it wasn't all for nothing after all like she had feared when she first laid eyes on him after he woke up.

Maybe, despite what even he might think, that boy named Minato Arisato is still in there. He might not be the same, but he's still there and he's not leaving any time soon.

After a quick monorail trip and some more walking, Kotone recognized that he was bringing her back the shrine. Wouldn't this be the last place he'd want to go?

"Wait, Minato," she called out to him causing him to stop in his tracks, "why did you bring us here?"

"Well, three reasons." Minato answered shrugging, "Technically, this is where we had our first date right? I thought it'd be a good place to end it off too."

"O-Oh?" Kotone blinked rapidly in surprise. Whenever she thinks of this place, she always thinks of him grieving over his family now. If she didn't hear it from Minato himself, she might've assumed this being the spot of their first official date was the last thing on his mind (even with her reminding him not too long ago).

"Second, not that many other people like to come here this late, which means we're safe from both interruptions and many…" Minato paused for a moment to search for a polite word, "unfortunate souls."

"And the third?"

"There's a lot of grass by the playground," Minato answered, earning a confused look from his girlfriend. But that look only lasted for a few moments until she understood what he was doing.

And within the span of a few minutes, the two were doing what both of them considered the most clichéd thing for couples to ever do—lie down and watch the stars.

"I think that one is…" Minato pointed at the sky and let out a long pause, "e-err…"

"You have no idea, do you?" Kotone laughed.

"I-I did…" Minato muttered, "I just… changed my mind last second is all."

"Sure, sure," Kotone giggled before pointing to another part set of stars, "Ooh, that one looks like a fox!"

Minato followed her finger to the stars and bobbed his head left and right, "A very… unique fox."

"Oh, quiet! It's a fox." Kotone waved his comment off, still laughing. "You know, I'm really glad we had the day to ourselves."

"Me too," Minato agreed. "It's… weird. It's been a long time since I've had the chance to feel normal again."

"Same," Kotone nodded before her voice suddenly lowered, "although, the wait was a lot longer for you."

"Hey, not tonight, remember?"

"Sorry." Kotone playfully hit herself on the head, "how is it I keep breaking my own rules?"

"I dunno," Minato shrugged. "Here, I'll keep it even: you know, despite everything that happens to me… in a way, I'm glad things happened the way they did."

"Hmm?"

"Well, where do you think we'd be now?" Minato asked.

"In either one of our houses making love right about now," Kotone answered with a deviant smirk on her face.

Minato blushed at the thought, "You certainly have a lot of optimism."

"We balance each other out." Kotone shrugged before sitting up with Minato the following suit. "Minato, even if you were just a normal person… I'd still fall for you."

"Sure about that?" Minato asked, his voice has gotten a lot softer than usual suddenly.

"Completely," she answered, without a hint of doubt. "Even if you're mean at times, you're still a nice person with an equally good heart," she said scooting closer, "besides, if nothing else, I'd marry you just to have you cook for me every day."

Minato was barely able to stifle a laugh, "you ass."

"I love you," Kotone said, brushing his fringe out of the way of his right eye.

"I love you too." Minato returned, placing his hand on the one that was now placed on the right side of his face.

Another grin slowly crept up Kotone's face, "wanna do another cliché?"

"Hmm…" Minato hummed for a moment, "the moon's not full, so it's not a complete cliché. Ah, what the hell? Who cares?"

With that, the two leaned into each other and pressed their lips against one another under the faint illumination of the moonlight.

Turns out, some things are clichéd for a reason.

* * *

"Hehe," Kotone giggled, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend and hugging him from behind. "Is it bad I was looking forward to that?"

"Maybe," Minato shrugged with his eyes scanning the room. "You have a lot of pink here."

"My room, my tastes, sweetie," Kotone replied, leaving a kiss on his neck.

"You do remember I'm a person, right?" Minato whined. "I'm starting to wonder if you'll chain me to the bed at this rate."

"I was innocent before I met you. You corrupted me." Kotone leaned further in, pressing her chest against his back when she planted another kiss on him.

"Did you say that _you_ seduced _me_?"

"Shut up," Kotone gently whispered into his ear, nipping his ear lobe.

Just another night of feeling normal.

Just another to feel happy.

Maybe Minato isn't gone; not yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... That reminds me, I do have 1 lemon left to show. I didn't write it, but I have it. It was a parting gift from my former co-author. 
> 
> Why am I saying this? Because I'm curious about how everyone will react. Last time I omitted a lemon on FF, I was told, "We need another MinatoxKotone lemon after so long."


	65. Chapter 65

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember back at... 43, I believe when I said that I changed my opinion of Makoto? This is one of the results of that.  
> ...  
> ...  
> ...  
> I miss Makoto.

"Uh-huh," Minato sighed, propping his head up with his elbow as he endured a lecture from Kirijo herself. He knew that skipping school with Kotone was going to bite him somehow, so this was the price he was going to have to pay.

"Do you realize how many days you've missed?" Of course, Kirijo was going to give one of these lectures. Minato had already come to terms with the fact he would most definitely have to repeat another grade unless he managed to pull some miracle, but those seemed to be in short supply.

And yet, he was still going to have to endure the young woman going off on a diatribe. Every word was going in one ear and out the other, something that she no-doubt noticed much to her chagrin.

"I mean, honestly, what were you doing that was so important to miss another day?" Kirijo finally asked a question he could answer.

"Well, towards the end of the day, your leader and I wanted to make up for the lost time." Minato smiled, knowing just how this was going to end. He was lucky that Kotone had already been admonished in private, or this she would have been preparing to kill him right about now.

"First we started making out and I pushed her against the wall, but we were still outside our rooms so we couldn't really get too touchy," Minato explained, grinning when he saw the crimson cheeks making their appearance. "We began to argue about which room to go to, seeing how mine is closer but hers is away from Ken's—we don't wanna walk the next day, but not at the risk of scarring a kid, am I right?"

"I-I…" The stuttered only solidified Minato's resolve to continue. Seeing one such as the Kirijo heiress herself become reduced to a gibbering mess while only a few sentences in the retelling was a sight to behold.

Kotone was going to kill him later, but that could wait.

"Eventually, I say, 'screw it,' and picked her up. She squealed and starting leaving a dozen kisses until we got to her room and I put her on the desk," Minato chuckled, crossing his legs and leaning back into his seat. "Personally, I wanted to take her then and there, but then she said she wanted to experiment—or rather have a little fun as she put it—so I took my thumb and—"

"Y-Yuki, that's enough!" Mitsuru screamed through her rosy cheeks, trying desperately to silence the boy. It was bad enough to know what they did under the dorm's roof but to retell it so in such a casual manner.

So eager was she to end his tale that she didn't notice her mistake.

" _Yuki,"_ Minato repeated in his head. Most of the people at the dorm had begun calling him by his old name—or real name, as Kotone would put it.

Everyone at school still called him that, being that's the only name he was known as there. It's the only name that his foster-family knows him as, too. In a way, he supposed that there was no way he was ever going to erase the mark Makoto Yuki had left, only pick up the pieces that were left.

"Sorry," Minato apologized, brushing off the cold glare directed at him. "But hey, be careful what you wish for."

"Must you be so risqué?"

"Yes." If this keeps up, he was going to have to question if he just loved flirting with danger. Come to think of it, that would certainly explain a lot.

"Ugh," Mitsuru let out an exasperated groan, throwing her hands into the air before walking off, saying, "just don't skip school again."

"Unless I want to," Minato mumbled, looking off to the side with a smug look on his face. The Ice Queen might have been intimidating, but he's already stared Death in the face. There wasn't much she could do to him at this point.

Now, he had the day to himself to do whatever he wanted, except he had nothing to do. After her lecture, Kotone went out with some of her friends, so she wasn't an option.

All that was left was to essentially play meet-and-greet with the team, something he put off to the best of his ability. Kotone was simple—approachable—but the others—how do you approach those that you tried to murder?

If he asks Kotone that same question, she would always reassure him that it wasn't _him._ In a sense, she was right; Makoto wasn't in his right state of mind at the time, something that everyone knew. But that didn't change what he did.

But who said that making amends was going to be easy? Where should he start though?

A loud crash suddenly erupted from the kitchen, loud enough to cause Minato to briefly jolt in his chair before it was joined a familiar scream from the girl that he had been warned about.

So Fuuka—definitely Fuuka—he needs to help her before she gets herself hurt.

* * *

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tick.

Time continued to count down as the bluenette sat in the chair, eyes facing downwards at the floor. He didn't want to be here; he never wanted to be here. Unfortunately, there was no convincing anyone. Words are useless are those that refused to listen.

"How was your day?" It's always the same question. How many times does one think to ask the same question but expect a different response?

"Fine," Makoto answered the same way he always did.

"How is school?"

"Fine."

"Making any friends?"

"No."

A sigh left the woman's lips. Interlacing her hands together, she leaned slightly forward and into her desk before saying, "You know, Makoto, I can't help you if—"

"Should I care?" Makoto rolled his eyes. What was the point in pretending? It's not like it would change anything. Plus, could he lie to someone like this—someone who had seen countless lies before? It was an interesting question, but now wasn't the time to seek an answer.

"So, you don't care?" The woman asked, raising her eyebrow. "About making friends? Yourself?"

"Does it matter?" Makoto scoffed before letting out a soft chuckled, "for a doctor, you're shit at your job."

"Makoto, language." The woman said such as thing that only made him roll his eyes more. He watched his family burn five years ago, but they're concerned with him saying naughty words.

"Whatever," Makoto opted to end that conversation as swiftly as possible.

Another sigh from the woman sitting across from him as it became clear what the problem was. The others before her had all given up on him, citing that they cannot help someone who does _not_ want it.

He sees her as his enemy—someone who is trying to invade his soul while forcing him to lay it bare. His stubbornness had driven everyone else away, so now he thinks that he can do the same again.

"Would you mind telling me some of your hobbies?"

Choice, is that what she's pretending he has now? Fine, he'll play her game for now.

"I like cooking…"

"Cooking, hmm?" She repeated, smiling and nodding in approval. She thinks she's getting somewhere—cute. "Have you ever considered joining a culinary club? Do they offer that in your school."

"They do," Makoto admitted.

"But, you haven't joined?"

"I tried once," Makoto shivered at the memory. "I hated it."

"Why's that? Do you like cooking in private?"

"I do, but no," Makoto shook his head before finally raising, "most people don't even know how to hold a knife."

* * *

"No, no, no, no," Minato said in rapid succession, overlapping Fuuka's hand with his to stop her. "Do _not_ put your finger on the spine of the blade."

"But, I was told that—"

"Whoever said it is an idiot." Minato forced her index finger to retreat, ensuring that she was now gripping the knife by its handle correctly.

"The knife is sharp enough that it doesn't need the extra force," Minato enlightened the poor, ignorant Priestess.

With him acting as the guide to her limbs, they brought the knife down on the vegetables on the cutting board, applying just a bit of pressure as the blade began slicing through.

"See?" Minato asked, raising the knife before bringing it back down again. Like before, the blade was able to cut through with just a little bit of pressure. "As long as it's sharp, there shouldn't be a problem."

Minato let her go, taking a few steps back and keeping his hand raised. Holding an imaginary knife, Minato continued, "if you keep putting your finger there, you're going to lose control and...," he sliced downwards with the imaginary knife in his hands, keeping the finger on top before suddenly losing control and driving the knife to the left towards his hand.

"Get the idea?" Minato asked, shaking off his nonexistent injury.

Fuuka nodded before looking around confused, "Um, do we have a press anywhere?"

"For what?"

"I was going to mince garlic, but…"

Minato sighed, "Put it on the board, place the flat end of the knife on top, hammer it, add some salt, and then just keep chopping it. The salt should keep it together and stop it from oozing."

"Um…"

Minato bit his lip, slowly nodding to himself. He knew what he was getting into when he went down here, so he had to carry it out. Holding up his hand, he said, "gimme the knife again."

* * *

"Do you prefer your privacy then?"

"Do you enjoy asking asinine questions?" Makoto shot back with a glare. "Yes, I do."

"That was rather hostile," the woman noted, "do you act like this towards everyone?"

"With some exceptions," Makoto answered. If by some, he meant one, then yes, there certainly was an exception. "I don't like people."

"I can see that," she continued to say in that calm voice of hers that was beginning to piss him off. "Any particular reason why?"

"People just bring me headaches," Minato shook his head, bringing his hands up to massage his temples. Now he was going to be thinking about that all day, great. What a great doctor she is.

"Hmm," she hummed to herself, "I don't imagine that your behavior makes it any easier."

"In a way, it does," Makoto chuckled, fighting the smirk that was forming from the corner of his lips. "Drive people away, then they stay away. Even if I tried to make amends, they're never going to forgive me for what I've done."

* * *

"Hey, Junpei," Minato greeted the capped boy. The last they were together, he nearly blew his face off; he can come back from that, right?

"Uh… hi?" Junpei grimaced but remained seated on the sofa. He didn't want him here but didn't want to say it.

Was he scared of him? It made sense; he'd be stupid not to be afraid of him. Makoto wasn't gone, just 'sleeping' for now. There was no telling when he could come back and what would come back _as._ Even Minato didn't know for sure, despite feeling everything his other-self experienced.

Did he despise him? It's not like he had any right to judge him for that. Makoto was ready to kill him and those around him without a second thought, even before what Pharos did, only changing his mind because of Kotone.

No matter what he does now, he can never erase the ghost of his past.

"Um, how are you?" Still, it was worth trying at the very least.

"I'm… okay, I guess?" Junpei replied with a familiar tone of uncertainty. The longer he's here, the shakier he's becoming.

Biting lips, shaky knees, eyes darting everywhere in the room, sitting on the edge of his seat—this isn't going to work. He's scared and isn't ready for this.

"I… was just checking in, I guess," there was nothing worse than a pointless effort. It was best to end it now, on his terms before it comes blowing up in his face. "Keep… I dunno, have a good day."

Minato didn't stay to hear whatever he had to say. God knows that it probably wasn't anything good.

* * *

"You say people give you headaches," she pointed out, "how come?"

" _You're not very experienced, are you?"_ This entire scenario reeked of amateur work. Maybe that's why she agreed to take him—you have to start somewhere while you still believe you can help people.

"Why _wouldn't_ they?" Makoto growled, briefly causing her to jump back; a little something to unsettle her to remind her who's in control, "too noisy, too nosy—too much everything."

The woman paused for a moment, wordlessly watching him as he seemed to slowly settle down. Was that a look of pity her eyes? Really? She's too soft for her own good.

She cleared her throat before speaking up again, "so, it's too much for you?"

"That, and…" Makoto shook his head, muttering, "one other thing."

* * *

_**Ding** _

"Huh?" Minato titled his head. Were they expecting any visitors today? Wait, how often _did_ visitors come?

With no one else around, Minato could only shrug and go to the door. If someone is coming here, then it was unlikely anything that would cause too much trouble.

The doorbell rings again, this time joined by knocking on the door. Whoever this person was, was _not_ very patient. Either that or they're uneasy, probably nervous. He should be careful not to unsettle them.

Minato swung the door open, "Hell—" his words were caught in his throat as he saw the person in front of him.

This was a woman and one he did not recognize. She was dressed poorly with hair that looked too stubborn to keep kempt and stood biting her lip as if part of her was saying that she should run away.

She wants to run, but something is making her stay, something important. Something that Minato could see through immediately despite her having said no words.

The woman was a stranger, but he'd seen her eyes before—those bright crimson eyes.

* * *

"what?" The woman asked what would be her final question to the boy.

"Heh," Makoto shook his head, smiling and closing his eyes. This was a waste of time, and she knew it; she knew she couldn't help him. She would just tell the same people that forced him here that she wasn't experienced enough to handle him.

Letting out one last sigh, he answered, "people always end up bringing their own problems to you."


	66. Chapter 66

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, my latest chapter. After this, you get the long-ass wait times that FF is sitting through.

He's gone now. With his absence, _he_ was all alone now.

Surrounding him was nothing but a dark, endless void. Before, there was always _something_ to suffer alongside him, be it that pale imitation of his former self or _him._

Where was this void? Did it exist in its own separate plane, or was this merely a manifestation of the gap that exists within the soul of Minato Arisato?

He didn't know. He didn't care to know. All things considered, he should still be a drooling mess, only moving to attack anything in-sight before returning to some dark hole. He _should_ be, but someone had other plans.

" _I-I… won't… let you."_ There was so much pain. It felt like his head was getting ready to explode, to a point that even _he_ was shrieking. The outside world—the real world—began spinning at that moment.

" _Don't waste this, Makoto."_ There was pain—so much pain. The world around him went black as the shock spread throughout his body as if he was going into a seizure. The purest piece of Minato Arisato's soul forfeited his existence, flooding his essence into a new vessel.

The humanity he possesses now—it's not his. It never will be his. If he had any, to begin with, it was gutted out by _him_ and was now being substituted by one greater than himself.

Makoto Yuki was saved by him, yet is resigning himself to the vast, empty void that Inheritor and Foundation had experienced since his birth. It was cruel irony perhaps, but this was the way it should be—Foundation, the one he and Inheritor spawned from, has regained control once again. By all means, all was as it should be.

But no, there's something missing here. It was something that even Foundation himself could feel. He may have been the original, but he wasn't the _true_ Minato Arisato—just an incomplete whole like the rest of them. Or rather, like the _both_ of them now.

" _Why?"_ Makoto often found himself wondering. Why was he still here while the other was gone? Pharos was gone, his quest for revenge has left him nothing but isolation in this empty void, and the humanity he possesses is a remnant of someone else—there was nothing left for him anymore.

Everything happening in the outside world was occurring in front of him as if he was in his private theater. Real Minato or not, he was able to watch Foundation live the life that they always wanted for themselves. Of course, nothing was without caveats.

SEES was—he didn't know what to think of them.

Junpei was still frightful of him, that much is certain. He couldn't blame him for that either, especially considering how close he was to disfigure his face. He was a child, of course—it was hard to think ill of a child fearing a monster.

Kirijo, what was he supposed to think about them? Was Takeharu currently staying away because he did not care, confirming that he didn't truly care about his family's sins? Or was he afraid of him—afraid to face the ultimate culmination of his family's work?

Of course, there was his daughter to think about as well. An innocent girl who wants nothing more than to protect her father, even going as far as to burden herself with redeeming their family herself—anything to absolve him of the guilt he continues to carry.

So much regret, so many terrible choices—and now, he's witnessing another.

Minato was quick to tell Kotone what had happened, naturally. Even from this 'theater,' Makoto could feel his resolve shaking as he tried to tell her what had happened. But how could he? How does someone tell another that a ghost from their past has returned to haunt them?

He could only watch as the one they loved's face began to crumble. At first, there was confusion, trying to piece together what he was trying to say as his will falter and he resigned to dancing around the subject.

But he knew that he couldn't keep hiding it from her. The moment he ironed his will and told her what had happened, her mood quickly began shifting. The confusion grew stronger for a moment, only to turn into denial as she shook her head, claiming that he had to have been mistaken. That claim faltered at one single sentence.

"You have her eyes."

From there, things just spiraled out of control.

She shook her head with increasing intensity as the confusion became denial. Kotone refused to believe it—she couldn't believe it—and kept repeating no even as her eyes became wet with tears.

The guilt was instant. Minato felt it take hold, reminding him of the years-old wounds he had reopened despite having no right to. From there, everything in his head—and thus the theater—began to blur with the lense of uncertainty.

Through the lens, Makoto heard shouting, crying, questioning, and through the distorted screen, he could see Minato leaving. From then on, the whispers began to make their return.

They were always quick, while also being soft enough that one could always brush it off as nothing more than a trick of the mind. There were more than several reasons that Minato had to question his state of mind, so he would either not notice or brush it off.

Makoto, however, took note of when those whispers began to become more frequent.

'Runaway' was the command always given when he was around _him._ Minato would look over his shoulder occasionally, but he would always be brought back.

"Something wrong?" Ryoji asked, his hand still on the chess piece.

Minato refocused on the board in front of him, shaking his head, "it's nothing."

Kotone was refusing to speak to him—or anyone for that matter—for several days now. When in school, she would be uncharacteristically silent only to return to her room the instant she was home. He couldn't hold it against her, but especially now with his status as an outsider peeking in, he needed to be somewhere and with someone he could feel comfortable with.

Lo and behold, the mysterious boy was quick to fill the gap that Kotone had left behind. It was a mystery why he spent so much of his time trying to assert himself into Minato's life, but for now, it was a welcome change.

"Monster…"

But something about today was different. Perhaps he heard the voice of too many times or it was finally loud enough for him to notice, but this time, the boy's eyes began wandering for any source of the noise. There were several people as they were in the café (a place Ryoji seemed rather fond of), yet he could find no one making those specific whispers.

What he had forgotten for a moment was that he was not alone, with his eyes quickly and repeatedly scanning the room drawing attention to his opponent.

The boy tilted his head, "are you okay?"

"Fine," Minato dismissed, letting out a feigned yet weary sigh. Continuing his façade, he followed it up with, "Kotone's just been having… issues."

"What kind?" he asked, grabbing a potato chip from the bag resting on the table and popping it into his mouth.

"Personal," Minato answered. So personal that he wouldn't dare to delve too deep about what happened behind her back—the dorm was one thing as they lived together, but not him—not to someone who was almost a stranger to her.

"Oh, sorry," he was wise enough to know not to prod a subject as sore of this. Of course, that didn't stop him from saying, "I guess these things just happen, right? You never predict them."

"Liar…!" this wasn't a whisper; it more like a scream. Laced with a wrathful vehemence, the voice continued shouting various curses at the boy in front of him. "Deceiver! Monster! Murderer! "

The more and more the voices spoke, the more his head began to pound with a pulsing pain. Clutching his head and groaning, Minato felt the pain intensify and the voices getting louder.

There something about the whispers through—beneath the anger and distorted shouting lied a sense of nostalgia permeating from it. But why, and why does it seem to despise Ryoji?

"What's—"

"I have to go," Minato interrupted, bumping into someone and nearly tripping as he made his way out the door. With every step, the pain would lessen in its severity until he was far away from the boy who was still sitting in his seat with a chest piece in his hand.

With a growl, Ryoji's eyes flared a dark purple as the rook in his hand snapped under his grip. No matter what he seems to do, there was always something keeping him away.

No matter what he does, there always seems to be some hand fate deals to cheat him. No matter how he tries to overcome, whether it'd be helping someone he despises or sending an anonymous message somewhere, there was always _something._

No, he won't let anything stop him. Nothing will keep him away from his only friend.

* * *

It was another rainy day like any other. Makoto had to admit he found the overcast and dreary atmosphere to be fitting after coming back from that bothersome shrink.

Instead, he could spend his time in his room playing another board game with his friend.

"Why don't you ever listen to them?"Pharos asked. He had always kept his silence about such matters before, but after so long and watching the past continue to wear him down, he wanted an answer.

Makoto shook his head as he moved his bishop into place. "I don't like people who don't mind their own business."

Everyone always wants to know what goes on inside that head of his. All they wanted from him was for him to sit in the nice comfy chair and strip his soul bare for them all to see.

But no, his soul wasn't something he would let others invade, no matter their intentions. The incident may have happened years ago, but a piece of him was still there to this day watching his sister burn; they had no right to see it. What happened that day was his failure and his burden to bear for the rest of his life.

Of course, there was one other besides him that knew what happened that day. "I'm sure they're trying to help."

Makoto scoffed before shaking his head, "I don't really care." Moving his pawn, he waited for the trap to be sprung as he continued speaking, "intentions only change the meaning, not whatever it does."

"Oh," Pharos' hand hesitated, hovering over the pieces.

"You're fine," Makoto assured him. "What you did then doesn't matter now. You're all I got, little guy."

Though nothing was said, the bluenette couldn't help but notice a faint smile creeping up the ghost boy's lips. For a moment, the only thing those two had to focus on was their game until Pharos had returned Makoto's bishop to him, crafting the perfect little trap.

"Checkmate," Pharos declared, placing his knight on his final spot.

Makoto blinked, looking down at the board for several long seconds. Replaying every step in his mind, he analyzed just how the little guy had played him like a fiddle so easily.

"Yeah," Makoto looked up from the board, "just so we're clear, you're stuck with me until I manage to kick your ass."

"You don't like to lose, do you?"

"Not when it's the forty-seventh time," Makoto growled, his face slightly scrunching up.

Pharos bobbed his head from side to side before correcting him, "forty-ninth."

"That birthday one did _not_ count!"

"I know," he said smugly, "it'd be fifty-three if I counted them all."

* * *

A cold rush began to wash through Minato as the boy slashed water on his face. The pain that he had felt had long since faded away, but the voices had not. No, even now, the whispers continued to haunt him, calling out his name and echoing in his ears.

"Minato," it was softer than before, lacking the venom that it had possessed when he was with Ryoji. He had tried covering his ears before, only to find that it somehow made the whispers louder.

Though the time has passed, the guilt remains. That must be it—it has to be it.

Perhaps it was because of what he told Kotone—the reason she was still locking herself in her room and why Yukari, Junpei, and Fuuka were banging on her door right now. The regret of one began to affect the other, reminding him of all he had done.

"Ugh," Minato groaned, resting his weary head against the glass. It's just one thing after the other with him, wasn't it? One by one, events are thrown his way, almost as if he was some sort of cosmic plaything.

He continued taking long, deep breaths, trying to push the noises out to the back of his head. He continued this, doing his best to ignore the phantom arms wrapping around him, inadvertently reminding him of someone long gone now.

He didn't dare to turn around where he would have been able to see a familiar shade of blue belonging to someone he buried a long time ago.

Ignore the voice, and he won't have to realize how familiar how it sounds.

But that was okay—he could try to block it out however much he wants. They would be there for however long he needed them, whether he would admit it or not.

After all, what else were sisters for?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Makoto! I missed you! It was a mistake getting rid of you! No! Don't go! Fuck!
> 
> Oh, oooh! Ghosts! Scary! Booga-booga!


	67. Chapter 67

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to experiment a little with this chapter and... uh... yeah...
> 
> So uh... I'm sorry to all the Minato/Makoto fans out there.

"Yuki," the hooded figure spoke to no one in particular; there was no one to listen to him for as long as he remained in this void.

Makoto Yuki—that was the name he chose. One of the interpretations of the name was 'true courage;' it was an ironic name to serve as a reminder of what he had done. One could say that this was his first act of independence, becoming more than just some splintered-off piece of Minato Arisato's soul. Others could say that was his first mistake and the beginning of the end.

Of course, the two were not necessarily mutually exclusive.

The name was nothing more than hollow words now. Minato Arisato was and always will be his name, no matter how much he wants to deny it. Names hold power behind them, and this one is what binds the fragmented soul together.

But now, the name—a lie—was all he had left.

The humanity that still dwells within him; it was nothing but a remnant of Inheritor who had sacrificed himself to save him.

"Save," he mused, wondering if that was the correct word to use.

He was free to do as he will now, but he's wasting it here in a dark void—the gaps between a fractured soul—and waiting for the end to come. Some would call this a waste and perhaps they would be right, but Makoto was content to remain here.

After all, it's not like he had anything to live for now.

Revenge brought him nothing but pain. Pharos was gone, and Kotone was with Foundation, thus cursing him to this lonely existence.

Yet, there's this strange sensation that has been haunting him. Whenever Minato is near Ryoji, there's this peculiar resonance from deep inside. It feels familiar, yet far too _numb_ for him to make an accurate guess as to what it is—almost like feeling an object after the circulation of blood had been cut-off after sleeping on a limb.

Too familiar to be a coincidence but too numb to figure out why. But that isn't his concern anymore; he's a viewer in a theater now. The most he could offer is his prayers, not that they were worth much.

* * *

Kyoto, the former capital and popular tourist spot. And now, it's the place that Minato had been dragged to for a school field trip, joined by the likes of Ryoji, Junpei, Akihiko, and almost everyone else from the school.

"Hmm," Minato hummed, looking through the glass of the hotel (or whatever they were staying at) while the teacher went on about rules of expectations. It looks like this place has a hot spring too. That's certainly something worth remembering.

"Get away from him."

Minato clutched his head, feeling the pulsing headache beginning again. Judging by the pain, sleeping was going to be tough tonight.

The groups started to separate with boys going on direction and girls going the other, naturally. From the crowd, he was able to spot Kotone, their eyes briefly meeting as she continued following the rest of the girls.

They still hadn't talked ever since he told her about her mother. She wouldn't approach him nor would he approach her, and how could he? He's an orphan; he wouldn't know anything about abandonment. He wants to say something, but it would probably do more harm than good if he tried to help with something he didn't fully understand.

But that didn't stop her from trying to help him when he needed her. He owes it to her to try, but he doesn't know how to.

"You could still try," the whispers decided to chime in.

Minato shook his head, "I can't."

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar brunette about to pass him by. It was a longshot, but it was the best he's got.

"Yukari," he called out to her. It was the best idea he had—she was the only person he knew that could relate to her predicament. But does he have the right to even ask this of her?

No, he doesn't, but he didn't care. He owed Kotone everything, so he had to try everything he could.

There's a shift in her eyes when she looks at him, a reminder that everyone was still wary of him, no matter how much they try to accept him.

"Yeah?" at least she's adept at preventing her voice from quivering around him.

"Talk to her, please," he asked, turning away from the glass so that he was no longer staring at her reflection. "I wanted to, but… but…"

But what? Why does he keep making excuses?

"Just do it, please."

"Um," she blinked, looking a little surprised by the request. Was it too presumptuous to assume that she wasn't planning to do so anyway or Maybe she had and he was too busy wallowing to notice? "O-Okay."

"What?"

"Nothing, just, surprised, I guess?"

He raised an eyebrow, "at what?"

"I dunno," she shrugged, "I just never thought you'd come to me."

"I'm an orphan. I don't know anything about abandonment." Is that true, or is that what he wants to think? "You're the only other person I know who has problems with their… you know."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," She agreed, thankfully. Her expression changed from confusion to... concern? "Are you okay?"

"Dumb question to ask _me,_ " he scoffed. "I'll be fine. I just… have a lot to think about."

Before anything else could be said, their teacher's voice could be heard berating them for not being in their rooms. Good, this was going somewhere that he didn't like.

"See ya," Minato didn't wait for a reply before leaving. He didn't need that right now—he just needs to be alone for a little while.

Alone.

Alone.

Alone.

_Alone._

_**Alone.** _

Funny—until recently, he's never been alone before.

For the longest time, he always had Pharos with him. Even when he didn't do or say anything, there was a comfort knowing that he was always there.

Before him, however, he had someone else.

"You brood a lot," came the figure that he refused to see, the same one sitting on the bench he passed on his way to his room.

There wasn't any reason to notice the figure. There was no reason to listen to it.

Just ignore it.

"She's waiting for _you,_ you know?"

Always ignore it.

"But you're scared, aren't you?"

Keep the door shut.

"You don't know why, but you are."

Don't ever open it.

"You can tell, can't you?"

Don't look at it.

"It's not your fault."

He didn't pay attention to whatever Ryoji was saying when he walked in or focus on the look of unease on Junpei's face. His only focus was collapsing on the bed.

Sleep couldn't come soon enough.

"Night, big brother."

* * *

"Happy birthday."

Makoto glanced to the side, seeing the small boy sitting on the edge of his bed. It had been his birthday today, not that anyone cared to celebrate it.

"You're thirteen now, yes?"

"Yeah," Makoto nodded. That makes this the sixth anniversary of that night—not something he likes to think about, never mind celebrate on. "Thanks."

Pharos smiled, always happy to do something, and receive approval from his friend.

It wasn't often that he saw Makoto smiling despite having been asked to do so by his foster family. Strange, they often refer to him as someone who's 'miserable' despite him being largely the same as he had always been.

"Are you okay?" Pharos asked after a long lingering silence.

"I'm fine," Makoto shrugged. There wasn't anything for him to do now except wait for the next day to come.

Then the next day.

And the next.

And the next.

Life was one big waiting game for him. Wait for the next day until an opportunity arises so that he can get what he wants more than anything.

"Hmm," Makoto snapped his fingers to a moment, thinking back to a previous conversation they had had together, "how's that amnesia working out? Remember anything?"

Pharos did not answer, but the glance off to the side told the boy everything he needed to know. "It's fine," he did his best to comfort him, "you'll remember eventually."

"I only remember the end."

"Hmm?"Makoto hummed, "of what?"

"Everything," Pharos answered. "The tolling of bells, bringing about the ultimate end."

"Sounds like a funeral or something," Makoto shrugged. The meaning wasn't lost on him, but he didn't care for it. So what if the world goes to hell? There's not much left for him anyway.

His family would be disappointed in him for thinking that, but they're gone now. The only one left who could feel disappointed in him is himself.

"Any idea what'll happen to you?" Makoto asked, lying down on his bed letting out a drawn-out groan. Sleep was so tempting right now.

Pharos, however, could only shake his head. The details were so fuzzy, no matter how hard he tried to recall them. The harder he tried, the more everything seemed to slip away.

"But don't worry," he assured the weary bluenette, "I'll always be with you."

"If you say so."

* * *

He should have seen it coming. It was foolish of him to see otherwise. The moment Mitsuru pulled him aside from the normal tour of the city, he knew where this was going.

After everything he endured and had done, it was only fitting that _he_ would want to see him again after all this time. Minato couldn't help but mull over how he was supposed to feel about that.

He couldn't hold the grudge against him―not anymore. That part of his life is over and has been over ever since Pharos left and Makoto retreated back to the dark corners of their soul.

But what should he do then, absolve him? Is that even what he _wants_ him to say? It would only be fair one could argue; the exoneration of one sin for another―one family ruining another, only for the sole survivor to attempt to exact revenge.

No amount of thinking was going to answer that. The questions would continue to remain, even as the car that they were in began to stop, having brought them to one of Kirijo's buildings, though Minato had no idea what the official purpose of _this_ one was for.

"Arisato," his name still sounded force whenever it came from her lips, no doubt still used to Makoto's name, "I'd like to reiterate, you don't―"

"I know," he interrupted. There's a part of her that he knows wants this, but she also doesn't want to force him―he's the victim of her family's crimes to her, but not vice versa. "There's something I need to see."

There's one question that has been tugging at the back of his mind ever since Makoto receded; he needed an answer, no matter how horrible it may be.

And that's what brought him here, sitting in a chair across from the man himself, Takeharu Kirijo. To think, such an important man, yet he booked a visit to Kyoto just to see him. If there was one thing that Minato could no longer doubt, it was the genuineness of remorse.

Between them was a lingering silence; neither knowing how to speak to the other.

On one side of the room, lay the man whose family was the cause of everything. Pharos waking up, Minato's family dying, his soul fracturing, the Dark Hour―everything. The guilt he must bear was no-doubt palpable.

And there was him. What was there to say? How much could be blamed on him and the rest on Makoto; should he bear all the responsibility, some, or none? He may be a victim, but that doesn't erase what he had done.

It was Minato who decided to be the first to speak up, "How's Aigis?"

Aigis. He tries not to think about her. If Takeharu condemned himself this much, then she must be beyond hurting knowing what she did to him.

Strange, when did he come to care about a robot―a thing?

"The damage caused to her chassis left several complications," Takeharu answered, "however, enough of her core systems were intact enough that repairs were possible. Final repairs are currently underway."

"That's good." That's one less casualty to add to the list. Was he ready to mourn a _robot?_ His world certainly was a strange one.

Takeharu squinted his eyes, perhaps to observe the subtle differences between Minato and Makoto―how they talked, looked, the way they slouched, and the expressions they wore. They were so similar, yet so different at the same time.

"Right," Minato scoffed, shaking his head. "I forgot. You never met _me_ before, did you?"

"No, I don't believe I have," he replied with a weary sigh, "but I suppose there's a lot of you I did not know about before, did I?"

"No, you didn't," he wasn't able to catch the chuckle in time. "Makoto didn't really care about what happened to Mitsuru, not really. At most, he just wanted to use her to hurt _you._ "

There's a faint sense of surprise that appeared on Takeharu's face when he said that. That surprise faded as quickly as it came, however, soon giving way for self-loathing that Minato knew all too well.

"From my understanding, you killed Ikutsuki as well, yes?"

"Yeah," Minato had a long list of regrets; the death of Ikustuki wasn't one of them. "He was there. Phar―Death, that thing your family woke up, remembered him. It took some time, but he remembered him… and I made him pay."

"Mitsuru claims that he also had plans to betray them," he affirmed which Minato assured with a nod, "in that case, I believe I should thank you."

"For what? I did it for selfish reasons."

"You still helped keep my daughter from danger."

"Tch," Minato shook his head, "do you mind? I'm trying to regret my life choices."

"If you want―"

"No," the denial was immediate, "went to see people before. I hated it every time."

How ironic, both Minato and Makoto hate when people try to help them except when one person didn't give him a chance to say no.

"I understand." Did he? Minato can't help but wonder. "But this other you―Makoto I believe his name was―what happened to him?"

Minato shrugged, "gone, I suppose."

"Gone?"

"It's hard to explain," Minato looked down at his feet, swinging in the air with every small kick, "a piece of me broke that day―fractured into three pieces with Death filling the gaps in between. I'm the first, so I guess I'm the closest to the 'real' one."

"And the others?"

"That's where it gets a little complicated," he chuckled, "we had our own names for each other; I'm the first, so I'm the Foundation, Makoto was the Prince, and the last one kept using the name 'Minato,' so we took to calling him 'Inheritor.'"

"And this third one?" Takeharu asked, "what happened?"

"Dead," the answer was instant. Makoto was gone in a sense, but there wasn't any ambiguity with him; he was gone forever now. "He died stopping Makoto's rampage. I don't know how or what he did, but… there's nothing left of him. And Makoto? He's just given up, just like I did for all these years until I was the last one left."

"I see," there wasn't any judgement in his voice nor any resentment, only… pain? "Even now, my family continues to haunt yours."

"I don't care anymore," he sighed, leaning back in his chair and slinking down slightly, "I'm tired of it all. One's dead, one's given up, my family's gone, and my best friend stabbed me in the back. I just want…"

Hmm, what _did_ he want?

There was nothing left for him to do anymore. Pharos was gone. Makoto was gone. Without either of them, his persona-abilities were hardly even a shell of what they were―they were likely less than the entirety of SEES now.

The only thing left for him would be to pick up whatever pieces Makoto left behind, but there weren't many. Everywhere he goes, he would be addressed by that name, allowing the shadow to continue looming over him for the rest of his days.

Makoto never had a plan. The thought of what would come next was always at the back of his mind, yet no matter how hard he tried, he could not think of anything for him. The only thing he wanted―the only thing he cared about―was for the nightmares to stop.

So what was left for him now; him, the coward who left his sister to die and is now confronting the head of the family responsible for it all?

"Never mind," he hissed through his teeth, although who/what was the intended subject was left a mystery as he stood from his seat, looking down at the man across from him. "I don't blame you if that's what you want to hear."

Is it; he doesn't look convinced by his words.

"For now, I want to be left alone. I'm tired of dealing with shadows or the Dark Hour or whatever goddamn thing comes next," he declared, making his way towards the door. "Do yourself a favor and worry about what matters instead of wasting your time on me."

A waste of time; is that what he thought he was? And is that all he can think about; him and his misery? Pathetic.

But he was already gripping the door handle; he was in too deep now. There wasn't any going back for either of them; that point had long since passed but that's no reason not to try.

"For what it's worth," he said, still gripping the handle and refusing to look back, "I'm sorry for what I did to Mitsuru. I never wanted to hurt her. I was just… angry and…"

Damn, his voice is cracking. This isn't good.

Takeharu doesn't interrupt, even as the boy, he was left taking several deep breaths in an effort to keep his mask from crumbling completely.

" _The things he did to me…"_ But he's just looking for excuses.

" _It hurt so much…"_ he brought it on himself.

" _Makoto…"_ Why talk like his sins aren't his own as well? Minato's the one Makoto spawned from, and he's the one who continued loathing himself as Makoto went on a rampage without even trying to stop it.

He's just as guilty, if not more so. He can't forgive himself, but his guilt harms others and compounds it further.

Again and again in an endless cycle of agony and loathing. May it never end.

"I'm sorry," were the only honest words that he could think to say before he almost threw himself out the door. It was too much. It was too painful to look at a man suffering for what he did; it was too painful to look in that mirror.

But a mirror provided nothing more than a reflection; the terrible truths he could not bear to see were still there, lingering like the clouds above―lingering like the ghost whose eyes were glued to his back.

"Minato…"

Some truths were harder to face than others, however. His family was gone; he would never be able to say his goodbyes, hug or be hugged by them again, or tell them how much he loved them. It was a sad truth but one he had accepted long ago.

"Minato…"

His name is Minato Arisato; he left his sister to die, he tried to kill the one he loved, and he was betrayed by his longest friend. It was a truth that was even more painful than the last but he had no choice. Now that Makoto was gone, there was no running away from who he was or what he did.

"Minato…!"

Some truths, however, he could never accept. He could never accept who he heard calling his name, or that he had heard anything at all.

The confirmation of existence is the ultimate truth something may have, and it was one that he was unable to give.

There was so much already―too many doors have been opened, each being more painful than the last.

So what would be lying at the end of this one―the final door calling to him?

"Minato, wait!" called a voice that made him stop in his tracks.

He was about to leave, but now he was already turning around facing the heiress of the man he hated for so long. Life truly did love to play games with him.

"Strange," he mused, allowing her to catch up to him, "you've never done that before."

The confused look she gave him was only natural, "what?"

"My name," he replied, "you said my first name."

There was a moment of surprise on her face, likely from her not expecting him to draw attention to what she had said/done. It wasn't like she was used to consulting with a lunatic like him yet.

"Never mind that," he thought it best to move on, "what is it? Did your father tell you to find me before I leave?"

"No," she denied. There was no reason to doubt her. "Are you all right?"

She's worried about him? Why wouldn't she? She had to keep an eye on him before the worse could happen.

"I don't blame him," he answered the question she had but did not ask. "That's what you wanted to know, right?"

"What?" she blinked.

"It's okay," he assured her, "Makoto and I both knew. Repenting for your family's crimes? That's not what you want—not really. You wanted your father back, not the old shell sitting in that room."

There was more confusion emanating from her but she did not dare to refute him. She knew better than to try. Or was she so bewildered that a rebuttal was unable to form? Did he care enough to tell the difference?

No, he doesn't. He wants to leave.

This place was a gateway to somewhere he swore to never return to. He _needed_ to leave before he was in too deep.

How long has he been standing there? Minutes or seconds? Every time he blinks, the world seems to fast forward; shadows are moving from one angle to another—shifting into mocking smiles directed at him, taunting him, laughing at him…

It never ends.

"What do you want?" Minato spat, taking a step back and the world began to spin around him. The lights were flashing, his breathing labored, and a looming sense of dread was hanging over him. "What do you want?! What does everyone want from me?!"

Isn't it obvious what they want?

"I try, I try, I try, I try," he kept sputtering, skull-splitting and darkness crept from the corners of his vision.

Try

Try

Try

Try

Try

Try

Rtry

Yrrt

Ytr

Tyr

Ytr

Ryt

Sense

Sense

Nonsense

Nonsense

Nonse

Nonse

Nonse

None

None

None

None

None

None

None

None but him.

None

None

None

No one

No one

No one

No one but him left that bridge that day.

No one but him controls his body now.

So when did he end up here?

So many people all around.

No roof.

No walls.

No Kirijo.

No one.

Nonsense.

Nothing makes sense!

Nothing!

Nothing!

Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing!

_Nothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothing_ _**nothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothing** _

Stop.

Stop

Stop

Stop

Stop

Stop

Make it stop

Stop

Stop

Stop

Stop

Stop

Stop

Stop

Ha

He he

Ha

He

HA

HA

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH **HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH** _ **HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH**_

Funny.

So funny.

The irony is funny.

People learn from mistakes.

You learn so that they cannot be repeated.

Yet, here Makoto is.

Minato

Makoto

Minato

Makoto

Minato

Makoto

Minato

Makoto

Minato

Makoto

Minato

Makoto

Minato

Makoto

Minato

Makoto

Minato

Makoto

Minato

Makoto

Minato

Makoto

What's the difference?

What's the difference?

What's the difference?

What's the difference?

What's the difference?

What's the difference?

What's the difference?

What's the difference?

What's the difference?

What's the difference?

_What's the difference?_

_What's the difference?_

_What's the difference?_

_What's the difference?_

_What's the difference?_

_What's the difference?_

_What's the difference?_

_What's the difference?_

_**What's the difference?** _

_**What's the difference?** _

_**What's the difference?** _

_**What's the difference?** _

_**What's the difference?** _

_**What's the difference?** _

_**What's the difference?** _

_**What's the difference?** _

_**What's the difference?** _

_**What's the difference?** _

Same sins.

Same body.

Same victims.

Same memories.

Same flashes.

Same nightmares.

So funny

So funny

So funny

So funny

Legless chair

Eyeless face

Pinkyless hand

Reflectionless mirror

Keyless lock

Siblingless twin

Parentless child

Burning flesh

Chilling air

Three minds

Three souls

One whole

One corpse

Two left

Why him?

Ringing bells

Expecting mother

Funny

So funny

Get a life

Watch it crumble

All alone

Kotone won't hold him now.

He betrayed Pharos.

Pharos betrayed him.

Broken promises

Ticking clock

He can feel it

But he denies it

Who denies it?

Who feels it?

The end

The end

The end

Where is he?

Who is he?

When is he?

What is he?

What?

Who?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why does he have to lose everything again?

Why doesn't it stop?

Why won't the pain go away?

Why does the guilt stay?

Why?

Why?

Why did it have to be him?

Why did he have to be the one to survive?

Why won't Makoto finish him off?

Why couldn't Pharos finish him off?

Why couldn't he have burned that day?

But he can fix that now.

He can make all the pain go away.

He only needs to die.

Die

Die

Die

Die

Die

Die

Die like he deserves.

Die as she did.

Die like the people he hurt.

Die like his family.

Die as the rest will.

Die

Die

Die

Die

Die

_Die_

_Die_

_Die_

_Die_

_Die_

_**Die** _

_**Die** _

_**Die** _

_**Die** _

_**DIE** _

_**DIE** _

_**DIE** _

_**DIE** _

_**DIE** _

_**DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE** _

"Minato."

A familiar voice called out to him. No anger, malice, nor any sort of judgement. The only discernible emotion was… regret?

But that voice was dangerous. Acknowledging its mere _existence_ was dangerous.

He was sitting on a bench in a place too dark to make out, but he did not dare to lift his head from his blood-soaked hands. His hands were dry, yet wet. The blood was there yet stained nothing but his skin.

Get it together.

He had to.

Ignore the presence he feels sitting beside him. There's nothing there. There hasn't been anything there for a long time.

"I know you don't want to listen to me right now," the voice was so soft, "but that's alright."

So sweet…

So comforting…

"I never blamed you, you know," kind words were words—meaningless. He had no reason to listen to them. "It hurt a lot, watching what happened to you before."

Hurt.

Pain.

Why was there so much pain?

Why did he taste salt in his mouth?

What's this warmness streaming down his face?

"I didn't do anything then. I thought I'd only hurt you more." If everything hurts, then nothing should hurt.

So why does every waking moment feel like hell? Why doesn't the pain ever end?

There's nothing beside him. He doesn't feel arms holding him tightly. He doesn't hear someone crying, apologizing for doing nothing for so many years.

It's hard not to listen.

It's so hard to move on.

He's too weak to face the past, but he can't outrun it either.

He can't run. He can't hide. He can only rot as _he_ did.

"Never again," he doesn't hear that promise being made, "I won't let it happen to you again, big brother."

Big brother.

Turning his head, Minato saw nothing but an empty space.

But he wasn't alone.

The lights were on now. Students were everywhere, gathering up to prepare for the ride home.

Going home already? What?

"Dude…"

Minato turned his head again, this time in the direction of a voice that could only belong to Junpei, accompanied by Ryoji and Akihiko, all having shocked expressions on their faces.

"Are… you okay?" Ryoji asked, seemingly at a loss for words.

Akihiko seemed to be much the same, taking several moments before he could work up the courage to ask, "have… you moved at all since yesterday?"

Is that how long he's been here? What must Mitsuru have thought?

What does anyone think?

So many people.

So many thoughts.

Too tired.

The only response Minato could give was a slight shrug. His eyes were burning and red with bags forming beneath them.

His eyes felt so heavy, yet refused to close. When he closed them, he saw the fire again. No more. Just no more.

Everything was becoming muffled. The room didn't darken, yet everything outside the immediate vicinity began to lose detail, becoming a blurring mess. Everyone began looking like the same, faceless dolls as they continued to gather.

A muffled scream reaches his ears. Looking up slightly, he saw the boys had turned around, almost cowering before the girls who all looked each had an irritated look on their face.

What did they do? It was probably something juvenile. Strange how the world continues so easily without him, no matter how childish the event.

Ryoji, in particular, seems to be in a panic. He does something; he brushes his hair down, taking a seat next to the bluenette and says, "Which one of us is the _real_ Minato Arisato?"

What was he doing?

The real Minato Arisato? That was a good question. Who was the real—

Wait…

What…?

No one else catches it.

Whether they're too angry or scared to notice, they don't catch it. They had begun to become so accustomed to calling him by that name that it doesn't stick out as it should.

Minato Arisato.

He shouldn't know that.

He can't know that.

Everyone calls him Minato now. That's fine. That can be a nickname or have some story to it. It's a habit he easily could have picked up.

But Arisato? No, no one knows that except those that know his past. When Makoto first attended this school, he used his name, Makoto Yuki.

There's no trace as to who he is. There is no trace of Minato Arisato.

So how can he know?

How can he be so familiar?

Those eyes…

That beauty mark…

His face…

No…

No...

How..?

But if that's true…

Then that means…

"Didn't I tell you?"

Minato's blood turned cold when the voice reached him. In front of him was a small boy smiling back at him.

"I'm _always_ with you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can we get a new Minato? I think this one's broken.


	68. Chapter 68

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest with all of you, I had... a series of depressive episodes during the writing of this chapter, so it may not be up to par with everything. Plus, I'm a bit rusty.
> 
> That said, I wrote this... more like a series of shorts more than anything. Hopefully this works?

Kotone collapsed on her bed with a soft thud. She would be lying if she said it wasn’t tempting to fall asleep on the spot; between the warm sheets and soft mattress—the school had outdone itself in the rooms they had provided for the field trip. She could hear sleep calling her name, but it was overshadowed by something else that had been on her mind for days.

Before she left, she sent a quick message to…  _ her _ . Did she even have the right to know she was leaving? How does one even decide that?

“What are you doing?” she asked no one in particular.

She found her. Her  _ mother  _ had found her again. The woman who abandoned her family came slinking her way back after being gone for so long. 

But this wasn’t the first time. She had found her before by pure chance while she was attending another school trip years ago, trying to apologize for what she did. 

What did that mean?

A knock came from the door. “Hello?”

“Yukari-chan?” Recognizing the voice instantly, Kotone rose from the bed. Opening the door revealed the brunette glancing both ends of the hall, likely trying to ensure none of the staff members caught her little detour from her room.

Letting the girl inside, Kotone quicked asked, “what are you doing here?” Never mind what the staff might do to one of them if they were caught sneaking into one another’s rooms; what would  _ Mitsuru  _ do to them if they were caught?

_ “No, no, no!”  _ Kotone thought, assuring herself. Now was not the time to panic. They were just two girls having a chat—no need to panic yet. It wasn’t like she snuck out to see Minato or anything. Mitsuru might  _ kill  _ them if one of them did that.

“I came here to see  _ you, _ ” the brunette answered, careful not to raise her voice to avoid alerting anyone who may be outside.

Locking the door behind her, Kotone gave her friend an inquisitive tilt. 

“Everyone is worried about you, Stupid!” Yukari was half-tempted to whack the back of her head, “you’ve hardly talked to anyone ever since you saw her.”

“Oh,” Kotone blinked. Had she been so distracted by her mother that she hadn’t noticed the effect she was having on everyone else? 

Wait, did she honestly spend all that time since brooding by herself? Minato must have been rubbing off on her in all the worst ways.

“I’m sorry,” Kotone returned to the bed, sitting down and folding her hands together. “It’s just that—well, I’m sure you remember how you felt when  _ your  _ mom called you, right?”

“Of course,” Yukari took a seat next to her friend, giving her a tiny nudge, “why do you think your boyfriend sent me?”

Kotone giggled, “he’s such a sweetheart.” Kotone was quick to make a mental note to give him a little something-something for that. “I… I don’t know how to feel.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling,” Leaning back, the brunette began supporting herself with her arms. “It’s so confusing, isn’t it? You spend so long hating them, but one day, they come back. They come back and you don’t know what to do.”

“Yeah,” a long sigh left the redhead’s lips, “I want to tell her to stay away, but…”

“But…?” Yukari raised an eyebrow.

“She’s family, isn’t she?” Kotone bit her lip, lowering her head, “all this time I spent with Minato, I can’t help but think, ‘he would kill to have even a mother like her.’” 

“You think he would want to try and patch things up with her?” Yukari asked.

“Almost,” Kotone answered, “he wouldn’t ask me to do that. I know him. But, I think of him and wonder, ‘is it not worth trying?’” Following her words, Kotone fell back onto the bed with her legs still dangling over the edge. “Family is so confusing.”

“You got that right.” The two grin before sharing a small fit of laughter that was quickly muffled, not wanting to draw attention from anyone outside. “It sounds like you already decided.”

“Maybe.” She cannot turn her away. Part of her wants to, but another won’t let her. Kotone needs to try, if not for her, then at least for  _ him. _ “Remind me to take Blue out when we get back. I owe him lots of hugs and kisses for all the time I spent sulking.” 

“Hey, does he seem a bit…” Yukari pauses before shaking her head, “never mind. Something stupid just popped into my head.”

“I know, he is pretty cute, isn’t he?” Kotone winked, “sorry, but he’s all mine.” 

Giving her an eye-roll, Yukari made her way back to the door, saying her goodbyes. Kotone watched the girl leave, and was left alone with her thoughts once more.

_ “Sending a friend to make me feel better, huh Blue?”  _ The thought made her smile. To think, months ago he was saving her life while she was unconscious and now he is still helping her however he can. She was going to need to pay him back someday.

Kotone began rubbing her eyes, catching them beginning to drop and a yawn escaping through her lips. It was getting late; she put off sleeping for too long. 

* * *

He will be back soon, Ryoji kept telling himself. He saw Minato leaving with Mitsuru more than an hour ago. It was no surprise she was able to sneak him off somewhere without trouble, she was the president  _ and  _ the heiress to the Kirijo Group. Who would dare defy her?

That didn’t matter. What matters now is that he needs to be here when he gets back. He needs to be here to greet him, be here for him. It doesn’t matter if he has to wait here all day if need be. 

He needs a friend. That fact alone is all he needs to keep him waiting here at the lobby’s entrance. 

Finally, he heard the door open, revealing the bluenette by his lonesome. 

But someone was wrong. The air around him felt too… empty. His presence was the center of a coldspot in the room; a vacuum sucking away all life around him. 

“Why, hello there!” Ryoji was sure to put as much enthusiasm into the greeting as possible, yet it still rang hollow, as if something was swallowing his words and displacing them into a void. 

Lifting his head, a single eye was peaking out from Minato’s bangs. “Hey,” even his voice was sharing the lifelessness he was emanating from his sheer presence. 

“How… are you?” The words were difficult for him to force out. The figure in front of him felt like a moving doll—a soulless puppet with someone moving its strings—instead of a human being. 

“I’m good,” an obvious lie that wouldn’t fool a child.

“Did something happen?” Ryoji’s voice was laced with concern. 

What was going on? Did someone hurt him? That has to be it. Someone hurt him and he’s suffering for it. 

But who? Why was he asking—he already knows who it was; it had to have been that girl. Kotone must have done something to hurt him. Does she not see the pain he’s in? Does she not care?

Minato said nothing, only giving Ryoji a passing glance from those dull almost lifeless orbs before passing by without a word, only brushing shoulders with the boy who stood there motionless and in shock. 

Ryoji bit his lip and gritted his teeth. Balling his hands into fists, he cursed, “damn you, Kotone…”

* * *

It wasn’t hard to find her. 

Of course, it wasn’t; this was an organized school trip with dozens of people—a few questions and a couple of directions here or there, and he found her among several others. 

It was a creek, surrounded by couples talking, cuddling—enjoying their time together and enjoying the scenery. In a way, Ryoji found himself envious. It must be a wonderful feeling to enjoy the beauty of the world with your dearest companion by your side. Isn’t that what life is? Enjoying these brief moments before they’re left only as distant memories until you are gone. 

Even those that were alone could find joy from the serenity of this place. Lying in the grass, one could easily lose themselves listening to the water flow endlessly with the Sun’s warm rays against their skin. 

That sense of tranquility appeared to be what Kotone desired. He found her sitting alone, looking completely lost in thought. 

Ryoji paused, surveying his surroundings, and analyzing the crowds. Minato was nowhere to be seen—she was truly here alone.

Her… his  _ dearest _ . 

“So frustrating,” his thoughts betrayed him, leaving through his mouth unconsciously before he could catch himself. 

“Hmm?” Oops.

Their eyes met for a moment. Ryoji had expected his anger to boil, forcing him to restrain himself to avoid lashing out or harming anyone around him. He could grab her by that ponytail of hers and drown her in the shallow water, but…

But…

But instead, Ryoji was left shocked and confused as he felt a sudden pang hit him. Was it envy? Regret? Sorrow? Was it all at once, and for who? 

Ryoji could only speak the first words that came out of his mouth, “he really loves you, you know—Minato, I mean.” 

It was obvious, even if he tries not to make it so; even through the dull coldness, his eyes would still manage to spark to life, if only for a moment. It was a privilege that none others have—something he reserved only for her.

“Huh?” Kotone blinked, giving him a quizzical tilt for a moment before easing her expression, smiling at the thought before returning her gaze to the water, “yeah. He’s all lovey-dovey.” 

Ryoji couldn’t fight the snort that came from that sentence, “oh, I’m sure.”

“Uh-huh.” Kotone’s eyes widened for a moment before turning her head to face the boy again, “ooh, you helped with my birthday party, right? Thanks a lot! I had a lot of fun.”

“Don’t mention it…” his words came out only as a mutter, preceding a long sigh and him shaking his head. “He’s scared to approach you though.”

“Wha—” the words came as a shock to her. Furrowing her brow, she asked, “what do you mean?”

“You’re not fighting,” he noted, “so that means he thinks you have something more important than him to focus on. He wants you with him but he doesn’t want to distract you.”

Ryoji let out a low chuckle, “trust me…”

Rather than refute those words, Kotone began biting her lip, lowering her head, and letting out a low groan as she began thinking to herself again.

Her voice began shifting, sound much lower as if she were ashamed of herself, “I really wanna do something for him.”

“Haven’t you done a lot?” Ryoji asked, raising an eyebrow.

“W-Well,” she stuttered, “yeah, but…” Kotone scoffed, shaking her head, “it’s not the same. It’s all the little things he does. I mean, I talk to him about my issues with my mother, how I felt so lonely, but he…” her heads falls further, staring at the ground, “sometimes, I feel like… like he’s not here. I mean, of course, he is! I mean, he’s....”

“He’s there,” Ryoji finished for her, “but something’s missing.”

“Yeah,” she affirmed, nodding, “I told him about things *I* wanna do in the future but… I don’t think he cares. Not about me, or  _ us _ , but—”

“I know,” he didn’t need her to finish. He’s alive, but he’s given up on living—he exists only for her because his own existence is of suffering, loss, and regret. 

He doesn’t care if he falls apart, as long as she’s happy. 

Looking at her, his malice melted away. The same spark he had existed in her as well—no, hers was a fire kindled by the life inside her. When she found him, his heart had been twisted and blackened for years, yet she’s taken it as her own.

She loves him too—dearly. 

“Infuriating,” he whispered, barely loud enough to earn questioning looks from Kotone, “took everything from me… I hate you so much, so why do I…”

Shaking his head and hissing, Ryoji turned his back on the girl, leaving her to come to whatever conclusion she wanted.

So many feelings at once. What is this? 

Anger? 

Envy? 

Jealousy? 

They’re human emotions—so why do they feel so unnatural, like an endless flow of sludge and filth pooling inside, bloating him, and smothering him. It should feel normal, yet so alien.

Nothing fits. 

Nothing is right.

Nothing good will come of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, right... that reminds me... erm... how do I say this?
> 
> Okay, well... I was gone a long time. I know a lot of you are shippers out there, so I'll ask you what I pretty much asked everyone indirectly on FFN via a pole. Would you like to see another lemon between Minato and Kotone? Obviously, it wouldn't just be shoehorned in and I'm promising nothing, but I am leaving the option there. I'm opening the option of me going back on my word about never writing these scenes again. Why? Because I love you all.


	69. Chapter 69

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see.
> 
> Chapter 69. Know what that means? Nothing. Joke's on you. :)

The words were echoing in his mind incessantly.

It can’t be.

It can’t be.

It  **_can’t_ ** be. 

They have the same eyes; that pale shade of blue that is forever etched into his brain. 

They had the same face—his face. If Minato was to slick his hair back, you could mistake them for being twins.

Twins, just like the one that he can feel staring at him across his room. The bluish-grey orbs piercing through him as he was searching through the few research notes Mitsuru was able to discover and supply at his request. 

There has to be something—anything to prove him wrong. They can’t be the same—it’s impossible!

“Is it, big brother?” The phantom spoke behind him in a tone that left him unsure if it was playfully mocking him. 

_ “It has to be,”  _ he thought, sifting through more of the papers. Most of the notes were beyond useless—partially damaged, measurements that he couldn’t understand, names he didn’t know, or the history of some folktales. 

None of it made any sense, even to him. The harder he tried, the more futile this effort seemed to be.

But no, he couldn’t stop. Too much was on the line.

The phantom’s voice began to lower, becoming much dourer. “You’re hurting yourself again,” it almost sounded like it was pleading with him, “you’re looking for something you know doesn’t exist.”

“It  _ has  _ to,” hissing through his teeth, he turned glaring daggers into the figure. But just as quickly as the anger swelled, it was melting away at the sight of teary eyes meeting his.

It truly was the perfect image of her.

Those eyes they shared, yet hers always seemed to be more vibrancy—more of a spark—than his. 

The long blue hair that went past her shoulders, complete with the fringe barely hovering above her eye that she would sometimes lower to mock him whenever he needed a haircut. 

And finally, that childish smile. The kind that could warm even the dimmest of hearts. But that was gone now. Instead, her lips could only mouth, “why?”

It’s a wonder why she even needs to ask.

“Because… because then I…” he felt the words choking him, chains wrapping around his throat tightly as to suffocate him, “I… it’d mean that I-I…”

It would all be his fault.

“I…”

Blood on  _ his  _ hands.

And just like before, there’s nothing he can do. 

No, that’s wrong. There was something he could have done but he crossed that line now. Another one of his mistakes that he’ll pay for.

The sounds of footsteps rapidly approaching caused him to shake. Damn, he can’t let anyone see him like this! 

Before the door could open, he assumed a more lethargic position—hunched over his desk, rubbing his eyes to conceal the redness, and emitting a soft groan. 

“Yes…?” he spoke, giving his voice a discernible drawl. Despite the facade, following the act was a genuine yawn; this scavenger hunt of his was more exhausting than he initially realized. 

Coming through the door beaming at him was his girlfriend, “Hiya, Blue.”

“Oh,” a brief moment of surprise washed over him, widening his eyes, “hey, Kotone.” Minato did his best to straighten up, not-so-subtly given the giggle escaping her lips. “What’s wrong?”

“What?” she asked, raising an eyebrow, “am I not allowed to see my boyfriend now?”

“Wha—No! I mean, yes—I mean…” realizing the stuttering mess he was becoming, the boy lowered his head sighing. He swore he could  _ feel  _ the grin on her face right now. 

The hum she let out was teasing, doing wonders to turn her precious “Blue” a pretty shade of red. She certainly knew how to get his mind off things.

“You’re adorable,” she continued in that playful tone of hers. 

As quickly as it came, the smile on her face disappeared. Closing her eyes, Kotone let out a sharp exhale.

Raising an eyebrow, Minato watched her take a seat on his bed, twiddling her thumbs and biting her lip. Not a good sign—she only does this when she’s afraid of how he’ll react to something. 

Taking a moment to consider her words carefully, Kotone started, “I…,” the words died before she could say them. 

“That bad?” 

“Maybe,” she shrugged. “It’s more about how you feel.”

“Just come out and say it.”

‘It’s about Aigis,” she explained, watching the suddenly shocked expression take hold of the boy in front of her, “we never—we don’t know how you—how would you—”

“I want to see her,” Minato answered the question she couldn’t bring herself to ask. 

Aigis. 

Minato had been trying his best not to think of her during his time here, and most of the time his attempts ended in failure.

He nearly killed her. Of all the team members, she was the one whose existence in this world was almost ended because of him. 

_ Killed. _

Not the word you use for a machine. Machines are objects; you break or destroy them, not kill them. 

But objects don’t feel guilt; they don’t plead with the enemy to stop or beg to save him. 

A machine wouldn’t look at their enemy with those sad eyes.

He has to see her. She doesn’t deserve the burden his life has placed upon her.

“Minato,” Kotone called out to him, “Mitsuru-senpai told me you went pale as a ghost after meeting her father.”

No verbal response was given. Minato could only direct his gaze towards the floor, not wanting to see those red orbs looking back at him concerned and afraid for his wellbeing. 

“Please,” she raised her voice, only slightly as if to proc a response before continuing, “you don’t have to do this.”

“No,” he shook his head, “I do.”

He can’t look up at her. He knows what will happen if he does. 

But he can’t run from this. He can’t burden her with his problems anymore—she’s done too much for him already and she has her own demons to face with her family. 

Minato heard shuffling coming from his bed before hearing Kotone’s soft footsteps approaching. “Hey, don’t do that,” she said, placing her palms on his shoulders, “don’t shut me out like that.”

“I’m not.”

“Minato, I’ve seen all three sides of you,” her voice was stern, “don’t even try to lie to me like that.”

“...” Minato could only bit his lip, balling his hands into weak fists in slight frustration—not at her, but at himself. No matter how hard he tries, he’ll always be a burden—a thing to be pitied until he inevitably gets them killed or they betray him. 

Mother, Father, Minako, Aigis, Pharos—how long until she ends up like them too?

“Minato!” calling out his name, Kotone briefly shook his shoulders, snapping him out of his daze. “You’ve hardly said a word since the school trip. Talk to me, please. I know there’s something wrong.”

She wouldn’t give up on him either. It’s an inevitable hell of his own making, approaching closer and closer every day. 

And if he’s right…

‘I…” the words became caught in his throat, his mouth becoming dry and his breathing needing to be concentrated, “I… I’m scared.”

Minato felt her grip on his shoulders tightening, her nails digging into him before relaxing almost reluctantly. The look on Kotone’s face almost makes him want to melt into her arms, hoping to forget everything, if only for a few passing moments. 

“Of what?” would she believe him if he told her? Of course, she would, but would he forgive himself? Would he be able to muster enough strength to say it?

No, of course not. He was weak—pathetic. He wasn’t strong enough to save his sister from dying years ago, so why should this be any different? The only thing he’s ever done right is to destroy everything he has.

“Of losing everything again.” 

But if he’s right, then maybe… maybe he can make it right—or try to. It’s the most he can do. 

Kotone calls out his name, raising a hand to brush against his cheek, “no more talk like that, okay?” The smile on her face is weak, yet genuine. “The nightmare’s over now, and I’m not going anywhere.” 

If she only knew. Knew what he did—what was coming for them. 

But for right now, he wants to believe those words. Believe in them as she’s pulling him into her arms, never wanting to let go. Believe in them as she holds him close the time passes. Believe in them so that maybe one day, she may be able to live the life she wants and deserves, regardless of his role within it.

* * *

Several hours later, everyone was gathering in the lounge, awaiting Aigis’ return. It was impressive that she had been repaired so soon after what he did to her, doubly so now that the twelve shadows are gone and they currently have no objective outside of the occasional visits to Tartarus for the sake of keeping up their strength. 

But to be back so soon after Kotone had just told him about her? How long had she been repaired but too afraid of how he would react? 

He could hear the phantom whispering in his ear, “are you going to walk down that same road again?”

It may be the same, but it’s the only path he sees open to him; here, surrounded by people, feeling all of their eyes on him and watching—waiting.

What must they be thinking? What a monster he is? How he almost killed them? How he  _ has  _ killed them? Do they sleep with one eye open, wondering how long it will take before he tries to murder them in the dead of night?

Or do they see him for what he is? Broken, pitiful… an empty shell of a person drowning so much in his own self-loathing to be unable to live what little of a life he has. 

Minato’s chain of thought was broken when the doorknob turned, carefully opening as a familiar figure stepped in. She was wearing a light blue dress, similar to what she had worn when they met on Yakushima—or rather when they were reunited after ten years on Yakushima. 

“Aigis!” 

“You’re back!”

“We’ve missed you so much!”

Like moths to a flame, the members of SEES surrounded their long-gone friend. Minato couldn’t help but notice the look of shock and confusion on her face, wondering how they could come to care for her—a machine that was built for combat and could easily be repaired or replaced. 

“Funny how that works,” he muttered to no one in particular. An heiress, a boxer, the idiot class clown, a robot, an orphaned lunatic—these were quite the band of misfits that have been gathered. 

Minato felt a slight nudge at his leg. “Hmm?” turning his head, he saw Koromaru pressing his nuzzle against him, ears lowered and giving him the attention-craving puppy-eyes. 

Smiling warmly, the boy pressed his hand against the canine’s head, scratching behind his ears. 

_ “Less than a dog.” _

For the briefest moment, Minato felt every muscle in his hand become stiff as if completely filled with lead. But as quickly as the moment came, it vanished with his hand retreating with a clenched fist.

No, not now. This was celebrating the return of their friend; he can’t ruin it with another one of his episodes. 

Pushing the memories as far as he could, he returned his gaze to the blonde android with the same fish-out-of-water look she always had when she was in school. It reminded him of a time when Kotone had to ask Makoto for help with some school assignment, only to come across someone foolishly trying to ask Aigis out on a date. It quickly turned to hell when the boy made the mistake of calling them a couple—he was almost certain Aigis was about to kill him on the spot before Kotone jumped in panicking.

The memory of it brings a smile to his face. Strange how it all works out in the end.

Makoto’s gone, Kotone’s his girlfriend, and now Aigis is eyeing him apologetically across the room, any murderous intent that had been present a few months ago was now completely erased. 

Pharos could wait for now. This was more important.

_ “Please don’t screw this up,”  _ he silently pleaded to no one in particular, taking a place beside the rest of SEES with uneasy footsteps. “Welcome back, Aigis.”

“Minato-san…” hearing his name come from her lips was accompanied by an uncanny sense of surrealism. It was a decade old grudge he had held against her, leading to this moment, yet it felt like a tape that had been rewound.

It was then Minato began realizing that he was looking into a mirror. “I… I’m glad you’re okay.” 

“I…” she hesitated, either at a loss for words or having so many it was impossible to choose, “I am glad to see that you are…” she trails off but the meaning is there. It was impossible to find a word strong enough to express what she was feeling. 

“I was concerned,” she admits, “I was uncertain if your condition was reversible. I did not want you to suffer by my hand anymore.”

“Aigis…” who was it that said that? Fuuka? Yukari? Both?

“It is… because of me,” her head lowers and her hands ball into fists, “ten years ago, I could not defeat Death. It was during our confrontation that—”

“Stop.” 

Aigis raises her head stunned. She scans the boy, searching for any sign of anger, frustration—anything.

Yet, all she can find is…

“But Minato-san,” her voice was pleading, as if seeking some form of penance for what she had done, “had I not sealed Death away inside you—had I not taken the fight to the bridge…”

“I’d be dead too,” he interjected. “I know what he was and what it meant. You did what you needed to.”

“But—”

“That’s enough, Aigis,” his voice was stern. “Placing him inside me doesn’t change anything. The things I’ve done? What Makoto turned into? No. I did that. I had a chance to move on and I threw it away, and now…” it was only after feeling his words choking in his throat did he realize the venehmance in his voice, emotions fueled by the past ten cruel years.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Minato finished what he set out to do.

“I forgive you, Aigis,” he declared her absolution, “for Death, my parents…” his voice lowers, “for her.”

No one dares to speak up—no one has the courage. For a moment, there was no one else in the room but the two of them, bearing a piece of their soul out for the other to see.

It’s not until he catches Kotone smiling warmly, proudly at him that Minato remembers the crowd surrounding him.

“O-Oh, uh…” Minato blinked, “right, this was supposed to be… um… uh…”

“ _ Maybe  _ we should go celebrate,” Yukari was the one to go in for the metamorphic save, “it’s a little too late to do something here. Any ideas?”

Glancing at Aigis, a lightbulb lit up in Junpei’s head. “Hey, Akihiko-senpai, remember that bet back at Yakushima?”

Whatever the bet was, it was enough to make the boxer wince. “What about it?”

“Well, he wasn’t in it but I guess he won,” he said, confusing Minato, “he got Ko-tan, didn’t he?”

“So I was a bet, huh?” Kotone asked, raising an eyebrow with a smirk on her face. “So  _ that’s  _ why you wanted to make kissy faces on the way back.”

“Huh?!”

“What?!”

Fuuka gasped, “have you two been together ever since Yakushima?”

“Uh—well—um…” Minato found himself tripping over his words, much to the redhead’s delight.

“Don’t worry,” she winked, walking to his side and locking her arm with his, “you can tell me  _ all  _ about it on the way there.”

“You’ll lead us there, won’t you?” she asked, directing her question at Junpei. 

“S-Sure thing!” Junpei couldn’t explain why but he had this foreboding sense that his life would have been in peril if he dared to say anything else.

But that sense of danger was nothing compared to the alarm bells that were ringing for Minato. As Kotone was dragging him out the door, he doubted that some light teasing was far from the worst he was going to get tonight.

* * *

Tick.

Toc. 

Tick.

Toc.

The bluenette brushes his hair out of his eyes, staring out his window revealing a bridge out in the distance. It’s not the one he knew so intimately, but he couldn’t be bothered to notice the differences. 

Bridges were bridges—they were all the same, and they brought back the same memories.

“You look bothered,” Pharos’ voice came from behind him, expressing his concern.

Makoto did not break his trance. “I hate bridges,” he gave a simple reply, “but I can’t bring myself to look away either.”

“Are you angry?”

“We’ve been over this before.” 

“We have discussed myself and my role, yes,” Makoto could see Pharos nodding in the glass’ reflection, “but we have not done the same for you.”

Makoto sighed. There was no way of getting him to drop this one, it would seem.

Turning around, the boy gave in. “Have it your way,” he said, “yes, I’m angry.”

“At what?”

“I don’t know,” Makoto scoffed, looking back out the window, “just knowing—feeling that place calling me.”

Pharos gave a quizzical tilt, “do you want to go back?”

“No,” Makoto shook his head, “but I know I will someday. That bridge is where everything started, isn’t it? It’s only natural we end up back there… someday.” 

Pharos stood beside his friend, joining him in staring out the glass and focusing on the bridge. “What do you think will happen?”

Makoto inhaled, prepared to speak before shaking his head, “bah, too cliched.” 

“Please?” Pharos pouted, “I would love to hear it.”

The pout was enough to make the boy groan. Try as he might, he could never say no to him. “It’s where everything began, right?” Pharos nodded. “If I had to guess, it’s where the end would start too.”


	70. Chapter 70

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I expect anger for this chapter. Sorry.

Minato blinked, watching the girl next to him forcing the noodles from the bowl down her throat. What bowl was this? Her third? _Fourth_ bowl?

Yet, she was still wolfing it down like she was preparing for a long fast.

His eye was drawn to the single noodle hanging from her mouth, quickly being slurped up by the girl with a bright smile on her face.

Noticing his gaze, she raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" Minako asked her brother.

Minato's eyes began darting from the bowl and then back to her—rinse and repeat until finally saying, "you're a pig."

His statement was met with a gasp. Her pale cheeks quickly reddening, she began stammering, "A-Am not!"

"You sure are messy like one," he grinned, pointing to the mess she had made after spilling some of the bowls' contents on her clothes.

That accusation, however, caused his sister's expression to change. From shocked and embarrassed red cheeks to a predatory glare, she began growling her brother's name.

By the time he realized his mistake, she was already pouncing on him, ready to exact her revenge.

But that was years ago. Now, Minato could only chuckle at the memory, glancing at what was once their favorite spot in the restaurant.

He's not sure what got into him that day but his younger self wasn't ready to submit to his younger twin. "Oink, oink," he found himself muttering, briefly losing himself in the nostalgia. He could almost feel the black eye she gave him for that stunt. They didn't talk to each other for a day after that—until they were rejoined by their shared nemesis that was _bathtime._

"Hmm?" he then felt his life was in grave danger when Kotone, who is sitting next to him on his right, turned her attention towards him, her mouth full after stuffing it with what he swore was her fifth bowl. He could only pray that she did _not_ hear what he just said.

"Um," the next words he says are crucial. He needs to tread carefully. "Nothing. Just remembering something."

His excuse appeared to be enough to satisfy her. Shrugging her shoulders, her attention returned to her bowl, continuing to ravage it like a ravenous wolf.

" _Whew,"_ he mentally sighed in relief—crisis averted; that was too close for comfort. Something tells him he would have gotten something much worse than a black eye.

Looking towards the rest of the group, he saw SEES' various differing eating habits.

Akihiko kept adding some sort of powder to his, and declaring that each bowl was some sort of "challenge" for training. Minato couldn't decide whether to feel relieved or disturbed that his confusion seemed to be shared by the rest of the team.

Ken and Mitsuru were the least rowdy of the bunch. Despite their environment, they kept what would widely be regarded as "proper" table manners. Minato couldn't help but suspect that the former had been taking lessons from the latter.

Yukari and Fuuka were talking more than they were eating. There was a mentioning of Koromaru at some point, and the archer almost jumped out of her seat panicking. Instead, she assured Fuuka that they can "save some" for him instead. What could've sparked that reaction?

Junpei was… Junpei. Not quite as messy as he expected, admittedly. He appeared to be far more relaxed than usual, perhaps being able to take his mind off everything for the first time in weeks.

And then there was Aigis, sitting to his left with her eyes directed at him.

"Are you well, Minato-san?" her question was as abrupt as it was puzzling.

"I'm good," he said nodding. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "why? Something up?"

"No," she said, shaking her head.

"If you mean Makoto, then," the mention of his other self's name forced him to pause briefly, swallowing a lump in his throat and nodding, "yeah, he's quiet. I don't think that we will be seeing him again."

"What about—" Aigis stops her words before the sentence could form, instead, shaking her head and apologizing, "I am sorry. It is inappropriate to bring up the topic. We are here to celebrate."

"I guess," Minato shrugged his shoulders.

Celebrating what? That Aigis is back after what he did?

It doesn't change anything.

There's nothing stopping Dark Hour and the cases of Apathy Syndrome running rampant. Day by day, more and more people are turning into living statues; they're breathing and existing without the spark that makes one truly alive.

With Ikutsuki dead and being an infiltrator, they no lead to go on. All they do is keep exploring Tartarus blindly, hoping something comes up while they try to maintain their strength.

Makoto's quest for revenge failed. Whatever happened to him during his last fight restored whatever sanity he had left, but he's given up. There's nothing left for him.

As for Minato, there was _one_ thing he had left.

The door to the restaurant swung open, and in came the person Minato wanted to see the least. "Ooh, are we celebrating something?"

"Ryoji," the name came out Minato's lips as a hiss. The sight of this… _boy_ stirring something inside him. His voice was instead drowned out by his girlfriend's voice, "oh, hey, Ryoji!"

Minato could see Ryoji's jaw tighten, giving Kotone side-glance and balling his hands into fists before forcing himself to relax. Instead, his attention refocused on his old victim.

"Hey, Minato!" watching him waving at him stroked the flames that he didn't know were burning. For the past month, he's felt so many things—guilt and sorrow—pain and anguish.

But now? Seeing him and knowing who he is—he can only remember. With each memory, he brought, all the emotions he felt the past weeks began melding into one—hate.

Ryoji continued unaware, beaming a smile that made the boy sick to his stomach, "it's nice to see you all again. I hope I'm not interrupting anything!"

Before he could speak, Aigis rose from her seat, "You should not be here." Her glare is sharp—predatory—surprising her friends.

Ryoji barely had time to blink before she followed, "this is a celebration—one that does _not_ concern _you_."

The members of SEES are now murmuring amongst themselves, each puzzled at the android's reaction.

"Aigis?!"

"Aigis, what's gotten into you?"

They don't recognize it, but he does. She wasn't lecturing at an uninvited guest; she was a machine and in front of her was the very enemy she was designed to destroy.

Ryoji unconsciously took a step back, stammer through his words in bewilderment, "d-did I do something I don't remember? Who even _are_ you?!"

"You are dangerous!"

" _You are dangerous!"_

Too many bad memories came flooding back at that familiar sentence. So many that it only kindled the flames more.

More and more they burned, and more and more the heat continued building.

Heart pounding.

Palms sweaty.

Body fidgeting.

It was too much. He wasn't looking at his old friend that betrayed him. No, he was looking at the one who ruined his life—the one that took his family away from him and haunted him for ten long years.

"You _heard_ her," it was Minato's turn to rise, his voice oozing with rancor. The more he looks at Ryoji, the more he chastises himself for not knowing who he is sooner.

His features were an almost perfect emulation of his own. And his voice—heighten the pitch, and Minato had no doubt he could replicate his tone and mannerisms perfectly.

His body was a mirror and in it, Minato could only see the reflection of a boy watching his sister die because of him.

"Mi… nato?"

How many people are dead because of him? His sister was his first victim, and then his uncle. How many followed? How many _would_ have followed if he wasn't stopped?

He can still remember the boy Makoto tortured to death. What was that? A moment of depravity from a tortured soul who would do anything to revenge, or budding a monster—the one that would have watched the world burn?

"W-What… what did I do?" did his lip just tremble? Does he think that _he_ has the right to be shocked?

Then there's Ikutsuki's experiment that Makoto tore apart during his rampage. Another victim of everything, yet he ripped him to pieces. God knows what they did with what was left of the body.

Those aren't the actions of a victim. He's a monster—he's been one ever since that day, and it all traces back to _him!_

It's not until he sees the shocked faces of those around him that Minato realizes that he was cackling, unable to contain his laughter. "Really? You're asking that… _Ryoji?"_ he can't help but draw his name out.

He can't stop himself. Are his eyes flickering as a reaction to the stress? It doesn't matter. It just means he has this creature's full and undivided attention.

"I…"

Before he could finish, Minato grabs him by his shirt, pulling him in closer. This was enough to make everyone jump out of their seats, surrounding them, and he swears he hears the owner yell something about threatening to call the police if he doesn't settle down.

"I want you out that door, _old friend,_ " Minato almost finds himself bursting into another fit of laughter at those two words. But no, he needs to keep his voice down—he can't risk the others hearing this.

Ryoji is too shocked to respond. He tries, but all that escapes is hot air. Good, it makes this easier.

"Full moon's close, you know?" Despite the twelve shadows being gone, he hadn't stopped keeping track of the lunar cycle. Looks like it was paying off now, "I'll meet you then at our _special place,_ I'm sure you can remember that, right?"

He didn't need an answer. The message was enough.

Minato released Ryoji, but not without pushing him with enough force that he was almost thrown out the door.

There's a brief moment where Ryoji pauses, glancing back awestruck at what he was witnessing; Minato was glaring daggers into him, barely able to restrain himself from physically lashing out at him.

Funny, he actually looks heartbroken before doing as he was told.

"Minato, what in the _hell_ was that about?!" Junpei? Oh right, those two were spending a lot of time together when he came back. Minato can't help but wonder how quickly his tune would change if he knew who— _what_ —he really is.

No, that's not him talking. He's defending who he believes is his friend. There's enough irony in that to give him metal poisoning.

"None of your business," Minato grumbling, brushing past the capped boy and leaving the restaurant. He has enough deaths on his conscience; they've fought his battles long enough.

* * *

He thought that walking alone would slowly quell his anger. He was hoping that his pounding heart would calm down and that he could regain control of himself.

Instead, he felt the sensation worsen. It was a festering wound that he had been ignoring for so long. By now it was infected, poisoning him and threatening to wear him down but he didn't care.

"You need to stop."

He passed by the ghost without sparing a single glance.

"Minato," the phantom called out his name before reappearing in front of him again, "please."

"I'm _not_ dealing with this right now," he growled. He was already lunatic but indulging what has to hallucination was a line he wasn't going to cross quite yet.

Fractured souls.

So much anger.

So much resentment.

It was a wonder how he manages to get out of bed every morning.

As quickly as the thought came, what must be one of those reasons came calling his name.

"Crap," Minato muttered, turning back to see Kotone running towards him, no-doubt having followed him after his… _confrontation_ with Pharos. Or would it be Ryoji now?

Upon reaching him, Kotone briefly hunched over, panting heavily as he had made a surprising amount of distance in a very short amount of time. Between everything that happened with him and the overall lack of a tangible goal at the moment, she had been slacking on her training in Tartarus and now she was feeling one of the consequences.

Catching her breath, she looked up and flashed him a warm smile, only for it to immediately falter under his cold gaze. Crossing his arms, he waited for her to speak.

"So…" she let the sentence trail for a moment, giving him an opportunity to speak. When it became apparent that he was keeping his silence, she continued, "you want to tell me what that was about?"

"No."

She blinked.

"No?"

"No," he affirmed, "I don't."

Kotone appeared to be genuinely stunned, looking down at the ground for a brief moment to collect herself before speaking again. "Okay… let me rephrase that: Tell me what that was about."

"That is none of your business." His words were as cold as they were when he first met her months ago.

"Excuse you!?" Kotone frowned before taking a moment to close her eyes and take a deep breath. "Minato, it's obvious something is troubling you. That is my business."

She's just as stubborn as she was back then too. But he wasn't backing down, not now. "Leave me alone."

"Alone?!" She's frowning again, only now she's given up restraining herself, "last time I left you alone, I nearly lost you."

Damn, what is he supposed to say to that?

The phantom appeared again, this time besides the redheaded girl. Minako smiles warmly at the girl before turning her head back towards her brother, "she really loves you."

Her smile drops, her gaze softening, silently pleading for him to listen.

"Stop," he scoffed, "I don't need babysitting?"

"Oh no?" she raised an eyebrow, "what did you do after meeting with Mitsuru-senpai?"

That was enough to get a reaction out of him. His expression softened and his tilted his head, "what?"

"After you met with her father, you just…" she paused, eyes watering. This was something that had been worrying her for some time but was afraid to confront it, "I watch you space out all the time. I'll talk to you, say hello to you, but you're not even there. Not really. Sometimes, it's like you go into some sort of trance and just... forget half the day."

"That's…"

Minako saw her chance. This may be the only time he'll listen and she'll be damned if she doesn't try to reach him.

"Brother, you're hurting," she repeated what she had been trying to say for the past few days. "And you will only hurt yourself more."

"That.. I…" so many things. So many voices in his head.

"I'm not dumb, Minato," Kotone's voice was gentle, though he didn't know if it was because she was desperate or afraid... or both. "Sometimes you can't stand to look at yourself in the mirror, and when you do, your whole body tenses. You'll smile when you're around me, but when I look back, you just look so… lost."

Lost? Of course, he is. His family's gone, his childhood his gone, his _soul_ is gone—he has nothing left to live for. He just exists.

Minako bit her lip, as if hesitating to say the words. "You're not really angry at him, are you?" her tone is one of fear as if she knows the answer but is hoping she's wrong. "It's not him you're seeing, is it?"

"Stop…" Minato could only get out a whisper. His breathing increased, boarding on panting. His hands are beginning to tremble.

Not noticing this, Kotone continued. "When you told me about Mom, it was just too much. I needed time to think and I hoped time to yourself might help."

"Don't do it," Minako shook her head. She knew what he was planning now, even if he doesn't understand it himself.

They just… wouldn't stop. "C-Can't…" he couldn't force the words out. So many things bombarding him at once; he could feel his head splitting open.

"But what you did? The voice? The expression on your face?" Kotone swallowed a lump in her throat, "it was the same one Makoto had. The exact same."

"Stop..."

"Minato, please..."

"You're angry, hurt, and I'm worried you're about to do something you'll regret."

"Stop…"

"You know she's right."

"Say something! Please!"

"Stop it…!"

"Minato, please…"

"Don't shut me out."

"Minato!"

"Minato!"

It was too much. The pressure of the two voices had him collapsing until he felt himself burst. "Shut up!" it was as much a scream as it was a guttural growl.

Kotone took a step back, gasping and stunned as Minato glared daggers into her, the stress of the situation causing his eyes to flicker again.

His body is shaking, muscles convulsing, and he's barely able to control himself. "I said _no._ For once, take the damn hint and stop!"

Rather than falter, Kotone stood up straight and met his gaze with a stern expression. No words were spoken, but the meaning was conveyed well enough.

Any other time, he might have calmed down. He might have given her a chance to speak. He might've even seen reason.

 _Any_ other time but now.

Hissing through his teeth, he took a step forward. "What? Afraid of losing your little toy?"

It was when he saw her eyes widen that he knew he hit a sore spot. After all, he knew her all too well.

"Isn't that what you want?" he asked accusingly, tilting his head to the side. "My head's screwed up in so many ways I don't know where to begin. My soul is pieces. I go through every day begrudgingly because I have _nothing._ "

His lip curl's into a half-smile, "but as you told me before, you like broken things. And now, there's me. Someone you can 'help' and feel all good about yourself."

It was a low blow. So much so that it was unlikely that Makoto would stoop to using it, but he was gone now.

"All it takes is you _pretending_ to understand. Tell me that nothing is my fault." There's no understanding what it's like to lose everything, especially a part of yourself… and only have yourself to blame for it.

"I-I…"

" _Nothing,_ " he interrupted, "why don't leave me to deal with my problems, and you can go back to that so that absent moth—"

His words end when he feels a hand strike the side of his face, causing a loud slapping sound to pierce the air. Caught so off guard and struck so hard, Minato was forced several steps back.

Bringing a hand to rub the new red spot on his face, he saw her; tears in her eyes and down her face, yet glaring at him. The pain would be felt by anyone saying those words, but not heartbreak. That's something only he could do.

She lowers her arm that had still been raised. She opens her mouth to speak only to take several quick breaths to avoid choking on her words. "I wanted…" she shakes her head, "never mind. Do what you want. We're done here."

Kotone wasn't giving him a chance to respond before turning on her heel and leaving.

Minato kept his eyes on her back until she was too far for him to see. She never looked back.

Those last words. Did that mean what he thought?

"Shit," he exhaled, shaking his head. Now, why did he have to go and do that?

Minako stood there, frowning and shaking her head. "You deserved that."

He couldn't disagree.

It might be better this way, though. He needs to go into this without any second thoughts or distractions.

* * *

No one disturbed him when he became even more reclusive than before, locking himself in his room all day except for the brief moments he had to eat or relieve himself. He was thankful they let him stay after that—he wouldn't have blamed them if they hadn't.

But it made everything easier. No one was talking to him. No one was disturbing him. There was no talking him out of it or any goodbyes getting in the way of everything.

Most importantly, none of them are getting involved. They've done more than enough for him already.

"Don't do this."

Of course, there was that one voice that wouldn't stop.

"Too late for that," he replied, shaking his head. Too late to turn back, and too late for the words that had been repeated the past few days to have any effect.

"Minato, don't…"

"Minato's gone," he let out an empty laugh. "I'm just an empty shell with his skin and name."

Looking up, Minato saw the full moon reflecting its light, looming over him. To think, it was a full moon that night too.

Midnight approached, and with it, the world began shifting.

The walls bled their red ichor.

The moon turned green.

The tower, Tartarus, rose from the ground.

And most importantly, _he_ was here.

Minato could feel his knees weakening, wanting to collapse the closer he approached but there was no turning back.

Ryoji looked dazed and confused, looking at the bridge with familiarity yet seemingly not knowing why.

"Having trouble remembering?" Minato raised an eyebrow. There no hostility in the question. Any anger he felt died when he used it to break Kotone's heart.

Ryoji didn't so much as turn to face him. Clutching his head, Ryoji felt vertigo beginning to set in, "I…"

Minato couldn't help but feel that explained a lot. He remembers, but only partly. He just needs a little push.

"Yeah," Minato nodded, turning his head towards a seemingly mundane and non-descript part of the bridge. It was a place special only to them. "This is where it all happened, Pharos."

Here, on the Moonlight Bridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *takes shelter in a secret bunker*


End file.
